Free First Thursdays

Join us on the first Thursday of every month for a restorative evening of discovery and community. Museum admission is free from 3 pm through 9 pm. Explore art, architecture, art-making activities, and seasonal horticulture displays in the Palace. The Café is open late for dinner and drinks.

Special program this month

Visiting Curator of Performing Arts Helga Davis hosts SEEDS, a celebration of the plants in the Gardner collection, and explores how these living works of art plant seeds of inspiration in all of us and our communities. The first plant reading is at 4:30 pm and the second begins at 5:30 pm. A tribute to the Museum's many plant species will take place in the lush Courtyard, featuring live music by jazz harpist Charles Overton and his ensemble. At 7:15 pm, Tariq Al-Sabir and his 12-piece band will perform new arrangements compositions of Stevie Wonder's seminal soundtrack Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants in Calderwood Hall.  Seating for the performance in Calderwood Hall is first come, first served for general admission ticket holders. 

Art-making activities in the Bertucci Education Studio are inspired by SEEDS and by the Gardner's iconic annual hanging nasturtiums display. Join Polly Thayer Starr Studio Artist Rayna Lo in the Bertucci Education Studio to explore and draw plants from the courtyard. Decorate and take home your own nasturtium seed packet along with drawing plants from life.

Advance registration is encouraged for free timed entry tickets for Museum general admission.

Registration opens two weeks before the event for the general public and four weeks in advance for members. Reserve your tickets online by clicking the button above.

Limited tickets will be available in-person at the Museum’s main entrance, starting at 3 pm, the day of the event. Please note that day-of tickets are not guaranteed.

Free Admission is generously supported by Fidelity Investments.