Calendar of Events

Programs take place in the museum unless otherwise specified. Click here for public tour registration.
Highlights Tours | Thursdays–Sundays, 12:30 & 2pm
Family Tour: Eyes on Art | Every Second Saturday, 12:15pm

Jun
25
Sat
Chamber Concert: Arazzo Music Festival
Jun 25 @ 7:00 pm
Chamber Concert: Arazzo Music Festival

The Wadsworth is pleased to host the season finale performance of the Arazzo Music Festival, a new initiative building community through musical performances here in Connecticut. Join Connecticut cellist and festival director Samuel DeCaprio as he performs an evening of string music in Morgan Great Hall with musicians from across the region. The program centers around Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet in D minor “Souvenir de Florence”, Op. 70 (1890). Free with required registration. 

Jul
9
Sat
Second Saturdays for Families: Hamilton and Hartford
Jul 9 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Second Saturdays for Families: Hamilton and Hartford

Pop in on Saturday for free family fun! Explore the exhibition Hamilton: The Art of Remaking History and learn how fashions from the American Revolution have inspired the costumes for one of today’s most popular Broadway musicals. Try your hand at creating an accessory inspired by the works on view. Listen to storyteller Tammy Denease as she illustrates how access and circumstance impacted a person’s clothing during the American Revolution. Family-friendly tours take place at 12:15 & 1:30pm. Find the Ice Cream for a Dream truck, parked outside the museum from noon–2pm, for free ice cream while supplies last. Free admission from noon-2pm.

Jul
16
Sat
An Early Republic Cake-Off
Jul 16 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
An Early Republic Cake-Off

Join Towson University’s art and culinary historian Nancy Siegel for a discussion exploring the connections between food, drink, and politics during the American Revolution. Sample sweet treats from the era to declare the winner of the ultimate Federalist versus Republican cake duel. Tickets are limited, registration required. $25; $10 members.

Aug
4
Thu
MATRIX Past and Present: Naama Tsabar and Laurie Anderson in Conversation
Aug 4 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
MATRIX Past and Present: Naama Tsabar and Laurie Anderson in Conversation

Naama Tsabar (MATRIX 189) and Laurie Anderson (MATRIX 46) engage performance and sound as pivotal components in their creative practices. Listen in as Tsabar and Anderson discuss how they use sound as a medium for artmaking, challenge the stereotypes of musical genres through experimentation, and reveal the feminist dialogues at play in their work. Free virtual program. 

Aug
5
Fri
Conservator Talk with Allen Kosanovich: Ribalta’s “The Ecstasy of Saint Francis: The Vision of the Musical Angel”
Aug 5 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Conservator Talk with Allen Kosanovich: Ribalta’s "The Ecstasy of Saint Francis: The Vision of the Musical Angel"

Catalan painter Francisco Ribalta vividly captured religious images at the turn of the seventeenth century, positioning himself as one of the major figures of the early Baroque. Paintings conservator Allen Kosanovich examines an in-process treatment of Ribalta’s The Ecstasy of Saint Francis: The Vision of the Musical Angel (c. 1620–1625), discussing how these efforts address the results of four hundred years of aging and numerous restoration attempts. Free with museum admission. Meet in front of the Museum Shop.

Aug
13
Sat
Second Saturdays for Families: Sight and Sound
Aug 13 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Second Saturdays for Families: Sight and Sound

Explore how Naama Tsabar creates objects that function both as artworks and musical instruments. Design a musical instrument of your own and watch a presentation by our friends at the Connecticut Science Center as they unravel the mysteries behind sound. Enjoy a dance performance from Spectrum in Motion. Find the Ice Cream for a Dream truck for free ice cream while supplies last. Admission is free noon-2pm on Second Saturdays.

Aug
25
Thu
SOLD OUT Stories in Silver: The Punch Bowl
Aug 25 @ 5:30 pm
SOLD OUT Stories in Silver: The Punch Bowl

This program is sold out. Join decorative arts curators Brandy Culp and Linda Roth as they consider the complex history of punch and the ways silver and rum were entangled in the eighteenth century. Sample rum from Bloomfield’s Waypoint Spirits distillery and preview the historic objects in the museum’s new Silver Vault that were used to serve this complicated beverage. $15; $10 Members/students with ID. Must be age 21 to attend. 

Sep
10
Sat
CANCELED | Performance: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6)
Sep 10 @ 2:00 pm

Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6) performances are canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.  Ticket purchases will be refunded automatically. Ticket-holders may present their original email confirmation for complementary same-day admission.

Tsabar’s Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6) performances are realized in a landscape of smashed guitars. The shattered remains evoke the destructive actions popularized in male-dominated rock and roll, but here they become instruments of communal performance that offer a feminist narrative. Join Tsabar and an ensemble of women and gender non-conforming performers from across the region as they activate Tsabar’s installation through site-specific performance. Free with admission. Masks are required for visitors attending this performance. Musicians not required to wear a mask. Tickets are limited, reservations required.

Sep
11
Sun
CANCELED | Performance: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6)
Sep 11 @ 2:00 pm

Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6) performances are canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.  Ticket purchases will be refunded automatically. Ticket-holders may present their original email confirmation for complementary same-day admission.

Tsabar’s Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6) performances are realized in a landscape of smashed guitars. The shattered remains evoke the destructive actions popularized in male-dominated rock and roll, but here they become instruments of communal performance that offer a feminist narrative. Join Tsabar and an ensemble of women and gender non-conforming performers from across the region as they activate Tsabar’s installation through site-specific performance. Free with admission. Masks are required for visitors attending this performance. Musicians not required to wear a mask. Tickets are limited, reservations required. Registration link will be available soon. 

Oct
6
Thu
Artist Talk: Stephanie Syjuco / MATRIX 190
Oct 6 @ 5:00 pm
Artist Talk: Stephanie Syjuco / MATRIX 190

Artist Stephanie Syjuco uses photography as a means of reframing the museum collection and exploring America’s colonial history in her MATRIX exhibition. Syjuco will discuss her process of working with the museum’s registration, photography, and conservation departments, bringing to light the complexities of collection stewardship and the role art plays in shaping our view of history. Join us in the galleries before the program for a first look at the exhibition. Free with required reservation.

5pm gallery viewing, 6pm artist talk