The admission to the Museum of Fine Arts is free to the public on Monday, January 16. The MFA will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open House from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm, and a variety of educational tours, family-friendly activities, and live musical performances will be featured, including a tour of recently-acquired works by African American artists. I have listed the full schedule below.
Musical Performances:
Berklee College of Music
1:00 and 3:00 pm, Remis Auditorium
The Rhythm Earth Ensemble directed by Award-Winning, multi instrumentalist, Berklee Associate Professor, Ron Reid and featuring guest vocalist Nadia Washington, mixes Afro-Caribbean Jazz arrangements and original compositions. This concert program features the combined talents of stellar Berklee faculty and students and includes several of the most influential songs of the Civil Rights movement.
Perkins School for the Blind Chorus (blind and ASL symbol)
2:00 pm, Edward H. Linde Gallery, Gallery 168
This multicultural musical celebration will be performed by the Perkins School for the Blind Secondary Chorus.
Tours and Gallery Talks:
All tours leave from Shapiro Courtyard
Gallery Talk
11:00 am and 2:00 pm, Gallery 327
Boston University Ph.D. student Rachel Tolano will discuss several of the works comprising the MFAÂ’s newly acquired Axelrod collection of African American art. By examining the diverse compositions of painters like Hale Woodruff, Beauford Delaney, and Eldzier Cortor, her talk will consider the dynamic ways in which African American artists of the early and mid-twentieth century challenged the assumptions of white mainstream American art movements.
Art of the Americas Tour
10:30 am and 3:15 pm
Introduction to the Collection Tour
11 am and 2:30 pm
Family-Friendly Tour
11:15 am
Spanish Language Tour
11:30 am
American Sign Language Tour (no spoken English)
1:00 pm
Contemporary Wing tour
2:00 and 3:45 pm
Family-Friendly Activities:
Family Story Hour
10:30-11:30am, Gallery 171
Woven Traditions
Ongoing all day, Koch Gallery 250
Participants will choose a symbolic color to weave into a unique cloth using Kente, a traditional African fabric.
Year of the Dragon
Ongoing all day, Workshop Studio G85
Families will use clay to sculpt a mythical dragon to celebrate the Chinese New Year this January 23rd.
Equal Plates
Ongoing all day, Druker Family Pavilion 160
Children will create an artful dinner plate representing their favorite food or a traditional meal eaten at home.
Drawing in the Galleries
Gallery 260
Visitors of all ages will learn tips and gather ideas while sketching Contemporary art in the galleries.
Film:
Local Youth Shorts Showcase
11 am Preview Screening and 1 pm Official Screening, Alfond Auditorium
The MFA will celebrate the voices of Greater BostonÂ’s youth filmmakers. The showcase features film shorts in a variety of genres from animation to documentary. The Official Screening at 1 pm includes a Q&A session with the filmmakers.
