Calendar of Events

Tour Fired Up: Glass Today with one of our knowledgeable docents and learn how artists transform humble materials into striking works of art in the exhibition. Explore color & light at our hands-on light tables and then create your own stained glass artwork! Admission is free from noon-2pm on Second Saturdays. Family-friendly tours take place at 12:15 & 1:30pm.

Ease into the new year with a slow art afternoon. Take a stroll through the museum and practice close looking with your favorite artwork. Learn about Mohegan culture and history through storytelling and tribal artifacts in a presentation by specialists from The Tantaquidgeon Museum. Use a variety of mixed materials to design a happiness scrapbook and document the moments that bring you joy. Admission is free from noon-2pm.

Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through art making, performances, and tours for all ages. Explore The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s exhibition Art and Activism at Tougaloo College during its final day in Hartford and learn how art can catalyze social justice. Free admission all day.   

ART MAKING
Work alongside the Public Art for Racial Justice Education team in a portable mural highlighting national leaders of the civil rights movement.
Join muralists from RiseUp for Arts and add your mark to their “Piecing It Back Together” artwork.
Conversation Starters: Demonstrate the power of your voice and create a sign that showcases your unique opinion.
Soar Together: Did you know that the dove symbolizes peace? Use a variety of colors, shapes, and textures to decorate a dove ornament that carries your hopeful vision for the future.

PERFORMANCES
Enjoy a performance by singer Elizabeth Lyra Ross in The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. 1pm
A special recital by Dejavé Dance Company reveals collaborative choreography at work and inspires everyone to move. 2:30pm
Listen to an uplifting presentation by the Voices of Hartford vocal ensemble. 3:15pm

FAMILY TOUR Eyes on Art | 12:15 pm, meet in the Main Street lobby

Presented in partnership with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. Generously supported by Talcott Resolution. 

5pm gallery viewing, 6pm conversation

Artist Matt Paweski and curator Jared Quinton discuss the new suite of tabletop and wall-mounted works made for the artist’s MATRIX exhibition. Join us in the galleries before the program for a first look at the exhibition. Free with required registration.   

In celebration of Black History Month, pay tribute to African American artists’ contributions, triumphs, and creativity. Design a portrait highlighting Black and Brown voices with artist Marsh and delight in a performance by bassist Conway Campbell Jr. Presented in partnership with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. Admission is free noon–2pm.

Discover how MATRIX artist Matt Paweski mixes elements of architecture, furniture, and interior design in his work. Assemble a unique keepsake box with inspiration from the tabletop sculptures on view in the exhibition, and join our friends from ConnLUG and contribute to life-size furniture made entirely from LEGO pieces! Admission is free noon–2pm. 

Tour the exhibition Alexander Calder: Collaborative Creations with a docent and learn how artists’ combined efforts produce unique textiles. Be sure to lend your finishing touch to our community rug. Design a card using a variety of textures to give to someone you love. Sign up for an Eyes on Art Family Tour at 12:15pm. Admission is free noon–2pm.

Tour the exhibition I Am Seen… and learn about the studio practices of the African American photographers of Frederick Douglass’s era. View a daguerreotype demonstration and observe how these one-of-a-kind images are created. Afterward, design a portrait and frame that captures your unique personality. Don’t forget to join our friends across the street at Center Church for additional family programming, including a performance by Nathan M. Richardson, renowned interpreter of Frederick Douglass. Find the Ice Cream for a Dream truck for free ice cream parked outside the museum while supplies last. Admission is free from noon–2pm.

Presented in collaboration with Center Church. 

Discover how MATRIX artist Lisa Alvarado creates meditative, patterned works that echo non-Western traditions of abstraction. Use sand to design a colorful geometric configuration. Work alongside artist and graphic designer Lindaluz Carrillo to develop a large-scale background that emphasizes community. Enjoy a dance performance from Spectrum in Motion. Find the Ice Cream for a Dream truck, parked outside the museum from noon to 2pm, for free ice cream while supplies last.

Image courtesy of Lindaluz Carrillo.

Celebrate Latine heritage and culture with art making, music, and performances. Work alongside teaching artists from Bomba De Aqui in a vejigante mask-making workshop. Watch Mexican folkloric dancer Tere Luna perform in collaboration with Mariachi Mexico Antiguo. Then participate in an interactive dance presentation by Movimiento Cultural Afro-Continental and learn the history of Bomba, an Afro-Puerto Rican style of music and dance. Admission is free noon–2pm.

Please note: The Hartford Marathon runs on October 14. Check hartfordmarathon.com for best access to downtown Hartford, parking bans, and road closures.