Calendar of Events

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. 

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.

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. 

A musical instrument made of glass? Explore the contemporary glass art on view in Fired Up: Glass Today as Vera Meyer performs an informal concert on the glass harmonica, a musical instrument developed by Benjamin Franklin. Free with museum admission. 

Lino Tagliapietra is one of the greatest glassblowers in history. Bridging the divide between Italian and American glassblowing, Tagliapietra‘s career has crossed continents and inspired a new generation of glassblowers. Now in his eighties, he is a mentor, motivator, and visionary who continues to push the boundaries of the medium. Don’t miss Tagliapietra’s work on view in Fired Up: Glass Today. $9; $7 seniors and students with ID; $6 members and Wadsworth Welcome. Museum admission not included. 

Lino Tagliapietra is one of the greatest glassblowers in history. Bridging the divide between Italian and American glassblowing, Tagliapietra‘s career has crossed continents and inspired a new generation of glassblowers. Now in his eighties, he is a mentor, motivator, and visionary who continues to push the boundaries of the medium. Don’t miss Tagliapietra’s work on view in Fired Up: Glass Today. $9; $7 seniors and students with ID; $6 members and Wadsworth Welcome. Museum admission not included. This screening is preceded by a 1pm tour of Fired Up: Glass Today. Docent tour is free with registration.

Since 1971, the Pilchuck Glass School has pushed the limits of glass, a medium that can last centuries or shatter in an instant. Through the story of this small but highly influential school in the Pacific Northwest, Pilchuck: A Dance with Fire reveals the remarkable convergence of visionary individuals like Dale Chihuly, regional culture, and good timing to explain how and why Pilchuck and the studio glass movement blossomed. Tour Fired Up: Glass Today before the film. $9; $7 seniors and students with ID; $6 members and Wadsworth Welcome. Museum admission not included. Docent tour is free with advance registration. 

Since 1971, the Pilchuck Glass School has pushed the limits of glass, a medium that can last centuries or shatter in an instant. Through the story of this small but highly influential school in the Pacific Northwest, Pilchuck: A Dance with Fire reveals the remarkable convergence of visionary individuals like Dale Chihuly, regional culture, and good timing to explain how and why Pilchuck and the studio glass movement blossomed. Tour Fired Up: Glass Today before the film. $9; $7 seniors and students with ID; $6 members and Wadsworth Welcome. Museum admission not included. Docent tour is free with advance registration. 

In-person tickets have SOLD OUT. Register for the live stream to attend the lecture via Zoom.

5pm reception, 6pm lecture—In museum & virtual 
Jelani Cobb, PhD, is an expert on how race, politics, history, and popular culture intersect in America. Author of the highly acclaimed book The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, Cobb also writes about police brutality, voter access, racial discord, and partisan polarization and eloquently explores how the past looms in our contemporary societal landscape and how we can collectively push toward a more equitable America. Jelani Cobb discusses the complex dynamics of race and racism in America, to clarify them and inspire his audience to collective activism with the goal of achieving equity in the form of genuine democracy. He shows us that not only are the levers of justice in our hands, but we can move them in the direction we see fit. 

The Pennington Lecture is presented in honor of the Rev. Dr. James W. C. Pennington and is part of Capital Community College’s Black Heritage Project. The project aims to surface the remarkable history of the first Black church and school for Black children in Hartford through an exhibition on Hartford’s Black community formation (now on view at the college), curriculum in a variety of courses, and programs such as this.  

This lecture is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Capital Community College Foundation and presented as a collaboration between Capital Community College, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. 

Listen to an informal musical performance in Avery Court by the Hartford-area Oboe Duo Agosto: oboist Ling-Fei Kang and oboist/English hornist Charles Huang. Free with museum admission.