Well this is the first blog entry for Gardner After Hours - more to come from some of the cool artists, performers, and staff here at the museum who will be working with us on these nights.
So I guess the first question to be asked and answered is: why are we doing this? To me, the answer is pretty obvious: for you. It’s a new century, and in order to keep being accessible to visitors we have to be open at a time when they can actually visit! Don’t get me wrong; I love all the quirky, surprising and beautiful things about the Gardner, but the first thing I thought when I started working here over four years ago is WE NEED TO BE OPEN AT NIGHT! So after years of rallying the cause, it is finally going to happen and I couldn’t be happier!
Our standard hours are 11am-5pm, Tuesday through Sunday – that’s great and all, but there are lots of us out there who can’t get to the museum during the week and then weekends are so busy with trips or meeting up with friends that it can be hard to find the time. So, that’s really the inspiration for After Hours. It is for people who want to try something new and like the idea of spending an evening at the museum along with a glass of wine in hand and friends by your side. So, we hope you come and like what you see, and if you do or if you don’t, tell us.
First up is Journey to the East this Thursday with free courtyard music from 5-7pm by shakuhachi musician Phil Nyokai James, joined by Cathleen Ayankano Read on koto; a self-guided tour through the Asian highlights in the collection (there’s lots, just most of it seems hidden); gallery chats around the museum’s famous portrait of you-know-who; sketching from 5-7pm for those of you who want to scratch that artistic itch; and one of the museum’s Artists-in-Residence, Ledoh, will be performing a Butoh dance in the Tapestry Room, so fabulous it’s already been sold out for weeks. Last but not least, tasty sake cocktails around the courtyard and our chef Pete’s awesome new small plates menu. Yum!
Keep in touch -
Julie
Julie Crites is Director of Public Programs for the Gardner Museum and the grand pooh-bah of After Hours. An avid food-lover, gallery-goer and jewelry-maker, Julie is the brains behind at least a couple of the sake-tinis you’ll enjoy over the months at After Hours, so raise a glass to her the next time you’re in the courtyard. You can reach her at jcrites at isgm dot org.
