Free First Thursdays at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

On June's Free First Thursday, we invite you to partake in art of all forms, just as our founder intended. From a dance performance in the Courtyard to a 12th-century art-making practice to a final chance to view Picturing Isabella, we promise an engaging evening you won’t want to miss. 

GET FREE TICKETS HERE.

Program

Suminagashi Paper Marbling

5–8 pm, Bertucci Education Studio

Partake in a centuries-old artform and explore the Japanese technique of paper marbling, Suminagashi. A tradition that began in 12th-century Japan, this meditative practice pairs water and floating ink to create circular, repeating patterns and is the oldest known form of paper marbling.

DJ sets by Saint Paolo 

5–6 pm & 7:30–8 pm, Courtyard 

Enjoy a curated selection of ambient, jazz, and dub, interwoven with music from the Philippines.

Gabi sa Gubat/Night Jungle Ballet Performance

6 pm & 7 pm, Courtyard and Calderwood Hall*

Enjoy a moving performance by the Asian American Ballet Project. Gabi sa Gubat/Night Jungle imagines a Philippine forest and the fantastical creatures said to roam after dark, reflecting on the magnetism of shared cultural mythologies and how they capture the human psyche.

The performance will begin in the Courtyard, traveling through the hallways and up the New Wing staircase, to conclude in Calderwood Hall. 

Please join us in Calderwood Hall at 6:10 pm after the first performance for a talk back with AABP Artistic Director Beth Mochizuki and choreographer Alexa Capareda.

Tickets are required for this free event.

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