Artful Tuna, Sharks, and Whales

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03 July 2026 – CAPE COD, MA – This summer tuna, sharks, whales and more – as imagined by artists – fill the region’s downtowns, bringing a sense of place and community in towns like Cape Cod’s Chatham and Barnstable.

Across Cape Cod, from  Chatham’s venerable whales and sharks to the newest entry of Barnstable Village’s tuna,  local chambers and business associations see art as a way to create a sense of place, engage the community, and even raise a bit of money for local events and charitable activities.

When did Barnstable join the art act?

Two years ago Barnstable Village Association board members Colleen and David Mason were taken by a Foxes on the Fence public art display in Virginia that they saw while on a road trip – and returned home asking “why doesn’t Barnstable Village do this?”

Drawing on the village’s history of tuna fishing, the group decided to take the outline of tuna as its template. This year more than 40 creators ranging from a kindergarten class to professional artists have turned the tuna’s shape into art. After a debut in the July 4th parade, the fish will “swim” around Main St/Rt 6a throughout the month.

What does it feel like to create on a template?

Laurie Semple McCarthy is creating her fourth whale for Chatham’s Art in the Park.

“This is basically a piece of PVC trim, basically plastic” she said. “It’s not a rectanglualr canvas so the challenges are the shape itself, which side you want to be the primary side … and coming up with a ad esign that lends itself to that shape.”

This year her two-sided whale features a folk art style tribute to the 250th anniversary of the US on one side and an almost tromp l’oeil effect of the rippled cloth of a 13-star Betsy Ross flag on the other.

I do like the texture … I kuje looking at the folds and the stripes and how the stripes change when you fold the fabric,” she said.

Meanwhile in Barnstable, Paul Rosen turned his tuna template into an homage to NC Wyth’s 1939 “Island Funeral” with its themes of community in a maritime setting.

“It (the original painting) is real big and so driving things down to the size of a tun is very difficult,” he said, clearly enjoying the challenge.

What do these projects accomplish?

On one hand, an auction of the art generates funds for their sponsoring organizations’ charitable work — but the bigger goal lies in getting people together and bringing people out and about into public spaces.

“The best part,” said  Barnstable Village Association’s Colleen Mason, “was seeing the family walking through the village looking at all the tunas and enjoying them.”

For more information:

Barnstable Village Association Hooked on Art

Chatham Chamber of Commerce Art in the Park

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