The architecture of the 18th century Colonial home enjoyed by four generations of the Cooke family won’t be the oldest art on display on Friday evening when the Martha’s Vineyard Museum opens its season with a free reception for members and guests: A traditional Afro-Brazilian dance that dates back to the 16th century will be on show, too, courtesy of a group from Martha’s Vineyard Capoeira.

Capoeira, incorporating music, acrobatics and fighting moves, began in Brazil when African slaves created the art as a way to learn self-defense without attracting the attention of slave owners. Hundreds of years later, capoeira has become extremely popular on the Island. It will be featured in one of several exhibitions open on Friday, a new Spotlight Exhibition that will be on display through June 25.

This year the 1740s Cooke House will be an exhibition in itself, telling a new story, focusing on the Cooke family as well as the archaeology and architecture of the house.

The house is the only example of its style and period on the Island that has not been modernized. Visitors to its 11 rooms of exhibits of Vineyard history can see what a mid 19th century parlor would have looked like as well as an early 19th century bedroom. Exhibits will reveal what archaeological excavations of the house have taught the museum curators about the age of the historic home and the story of the family that lived there.

In addition to the newly arranged Cooke House, guests can enjoy three current exhibitions on display: We Are Marching Along: Martha’s Vineyard and the Civil War; Your Town, Our Island; and the spotlight exhibition, as well as the Wampanoag Gallery, carriage shed of vehicles and vessels, kids’ space, and 1854 Fresnel Lens.

The summer opening reception in on Friday, June 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the campus at the corner of Cooke and School streets in Edgartown. It is free and open to the public.

For more information about upcoming programming and exhibits, see online mvmuseum.org.