The NetWorks: Art + Fishing + Community

This public art project and film were initiated and produced by the Manship Artist Residency, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Manship Artists Residency invited The NetWorks visionary of Erika Senft Miller to work with local artists and the fishing community to create an installation piece to celebrate Gloucester's fishing heritage. As a Manship Artist resident, Erika Senft Miller gathered an international team of artists and set out to create an immersive installation with the local fishing community. Senft Miller and her creative collaborators end up forging a deep connection and alliance with local fishermen and their families and, in the process, they uncover the deeper hardships and challenges of keeping this cherished maritime heritage afloat. Collaborators include Artists: Paul Cary Goldberg, Miles Dean Ewell, Neha Ewell, Menghan Wang, Peter Waxdal, Aaron Wisniewski, and Laura Crook Waxdal; as well as members of the Fishing Community: James Tarantino, Captain Joseph Sanfilippo, Ann Molloy, Monte Rome, and Captain Accursio "Gus" Sanfilippo.

As the film director it was my job to put together a story about an immersive art installation project celebrating the fishing heritage of Gloucester Massachusetts that brought together and touched the community. The central story arch is from the installation itself: Act 1: Watch Your Step, Act 2: Everything Wobbles and Act 3: Home which were posted on the walls as people can entered the exhibit. There were 9 Stations/Novenas or poems which I aligned with the acts. During this journey, we also meet the artists and family members of the fishing community involved in its creation. Interweaving these elements enabled a creative play between documentary and art film allowing different focus of experience by the viewer which helps to open people's perspectives. All documentaries are also an investigation and a key element that surfaced during the film making process beyond the story of creating the event itself was the consistent message from the fishing community that it needs help to preserve this heritage -- which presents a great challenging thought to take away from this film.

I came away feeling I got to know the artists and particularly the fishermen and their community better. Now I want to understand more about helping preserve and support this tradition and fishing as a professional calling. It also shows how artists and art projects can help people cross boundaries and find new perspectives. I hope audiences take away similar feelings.

In this film you will meet Erika Senft Miller, and the Artists and Fishing Community Collaborators that shaped the creative and emotional impact of the installation.

Local Fishing Community Team
James Tarantino - Gloucester native and former fisherman, is a proud husband, father and grandfather who takes immense pride in his Maritime Heritage.
Captain Joseph Sanfilippo - Northeast Commercial Fisherman, born and raised in Gloucester. His knowledge, work ethic, and passion for the industry lhas ed him to co-own three trawlers.
Ann Molloy - Owner Director of Neptunes Harvest Ocean Based Fertilizer Company. A multi-generational fishing family member with expansive historical knowledge of her community.
Monte Rome - Intershell International Corporation Owner and Director. Gloucester-based Rome is an award-winning international seafood dealer and fearless advocate for both the fishing community and the arts in Gloucester.
Captain Accursio "Gus" Sanfilippo - Welcomed the Art Team onto the F/V Captain Dominic, providing invaluable inspiration and audio for the sound track. This film is dedicated to Capt. Gus and his crew, who perished on the F/V Lilly Jean in January 2026.
Art Team
Erika Senft Miller - Creative Director. Immersive Interactive Multi-Sensory Art Installations, Multi-disciplined International Teacher and Art Project Leader.
Paul Cary Goldberg - Photographer of all stills in the installation, as well as the holographic projections, images on the TV and the prints on the curtain and throw pillow.
Menghan Wang - Video Projection Artist. Beijing-born Sound DJ and Projection Artist studied in Berlin, Germany. Dedicated to independent artists, building community and inspiring dialogue and collaboration.
Miles Dean Ewell - Sound Design. Miles is a NYC-based Sound Maker, specializing in quadraphonic audio and light composition w/ looping playback from Ableton.
Neha Ewell - Sound Design. Neha is India-born and Brooklyn, New York-based award-winning music supervisor, accomplished musician, and trauma-informed meditation teacher, dedicated to crafting and curating transformative, embodied experiences.
Aaron Wisniewski - Scent Artist and Installer of the Holographic Projections. A mad scientist, artist, and olfactory evangelist. Aaron has been called the Indiana Jones of Scent, due to his lifelong obsession with the power of scent and how it can benefit the human experience.
Rich Arentzen - Glass blower. Skilled in the fine techniques of Italian-style glassblowing, art glass, and lighting components.
Peter Waxdal - Light and Sound Technology. Waxdal has been creating spaces for artists and art for three decades with specialty construction for lighting & rigging, and audio-video for Architainment, and has been involved in hundreds of venue builds.
Laura Crook Waxdal - Actor, Writer, and Voice-over Artist. Crook Waxdal adapted Senft Miller's Three-Act Introduction into a poetic, auditory embodiment of the Net describing the story arc of the installation for film.

Promotional Stills shot by Photographer Tsar Fedorsky and captured from film footage.