Thursday, June 26 – September 28 –
Special Exhibition: Luisa Rabbia:
Travels with Isabella, Travel Scrapbooks 1883/2008

During her residency at the Gardner Museum, Luisa Rabbia was inspired by photographs Isabella Stewart Gardner collected while traveling in China in 1883. For this exhibition, she has used these archival photographs to create a video of an imaginary landscape animated with her own drawings, as well as with other images and music also inspired during her residency. The result is a fantastical narrative that is both contemporary and historical.

Luisa Rabbia’s work is deeply rooted in drawing, which she sees as a platform that unites rational construct with the imagination. The dynamic tension that exists in drawing between the subject figure and its background, the being and becoming of space and time, has influenced much of Rabbia’s work with paper, papier-maché, porcelain, and animation.

Exhibition Programming:

-Member's Preview: Wednesday, June 25, 6:30 pm.

-Artist Talk: Luisa Rabbia, Artist-in-Residence & Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art, Saturday, June 28, 1:30 pm.

-Summer Night :Thursday, July 31.
6:00 pm - DJ Concert from DJ Die Young and the ICA VJs,
7:00pm - Gallery talk with writer and critic Mario Diacono
7:30pm - DJ Concert from Fa Ventilato
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-Animation and Sound: A Two-Part Process: Luisa Rabbia and Fa Ventilato in conversation. Thursday, September 18, 7:00pm.

-Memory and Invention and Personal Travel Scrapbooks: Alan Chong, Curator of the collection and Pieranna Cavalchini in conversation followed by the book launch and signing of Travels with Isabella by Luisa Rabbia. Thursday, September 25, 6:30pm.

On three summer nights each year the Gardner Museum throws open its doors for a series of Neighborhood Nights, inviting our neighbors to join in a free celebration of the arts. Each evening features live music, storytelling, and performances under the stars along with fun activities that children, teens, and adults can enjoy together. Join us for three lively nights with programs for the whole family.

Each Night

• Free admission to the museum for everyone
• Live music under the stars
• Museum exploring and art-making activities for children and families
• Sketch plants and flowers found in the museum’s breathtaking courtyard
• Experience this summer’s special exhibition Isabella’s Travels by Artist-in-ResidenceLuisa Rabbia.
  
• Visit the popular Museum Shop

July10
Oh Rats!
Celebrating Chinese culture and the year of the rat.

• Make your very own rat hat to wear throughout the museum.
• Go on a hunt to find the12 animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar
• Create a magnificent Chinese Opera mask.
• Spellbinding Chinese stories and mouse character games with Li Min Mo
• Listen to the live exuberant Latin songs and rhythms of Sol y Canto

July 24
Heritage Alive!
Visit the Gardner and travel the world.

• Explore art from Egypt, China, Japan and Spain and imagine your own journey
• Plant seeds in peat pots to take home to grow in your very own garden
• Listen to captivating stories from faraway places with dancer and storyteller Tara Ahmed
• The beat heats up with the live soulful sounds of Zili Misik

August 7
Dance the Lion
Let’s celebrate and have a good time!

• Make and create your own rice dough animals with artist Chuan Dao
• Test your skill with the ancient Chinese puzzle Tangrams
• Listen to the unique sounds of the vocal jazz group Syncopation
• Be astounded by dancing lions with the exciting Gund Kwok dance troupe

October 19, 2008, 1:30 pm Cassone Concert

The Boston Camerata
Anne Azéma, artistic director
Program conceived and directed by Joel Cohen

Vieni Imeneo: Music and Marriage in Renaissance Italy

A musical tour of nuptial mores in Florence, Rome, Venice, and other centers of Italian splendor, ca. 1450–1600: the pride and power of noble families, the resplendent bride and groom, the blessing of the Church, and the nocturnal rites of Hymen.  Music of Dufay, Josquin, Monteverdi, and others for varied consorts of voices and Renaissance instruments

Held in conjunction with THE TRIUMPH OF MARRIAGE: PAINTED CASSONI OF THE RENAISSANCE (16 October 2008 to 18 January 2009)

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is located at 280 The Fenway, Boston. We're on the MBTA Green Line (E train to "Museum" stop).

Free Parking is generously donated by Boston Latin School for certain museum events, please check calendar listings. Paid Parking is available in limited metered spaces surrounding the museum and in the MFA lot and garage on Museum Road.
Map of Parking Directions (PDF)

The Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Galleries begin closing at 4:45 p.m.).