Opening Our Doors Day

A free, fun day for the whole family featuring hands-on textile-inspired programming in celebration of our special exhibition Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time.

Try your hand at weaving with Eliot School faculty fiber artist Diane Ivey and experience a fashion showcase curated by Nathalia JMag, featuring local designers I am Kreyol, Bre Budryk, Cornelius Ortiz, and Alexandra Renee Couture.  Artist Steve Locke's piece on the Anne H. Fitzpatrick Facade comes to life with songs by the Hamilton-Garrett Music and Arts Academy Choir. Join a special screening and panel discussion of Eternally Misunderstood, Vanessa Ly's moving documentary of interviews with young women whose lives have been affected by incarceration, and enjoy electric violinist Josh Knowles improvising a musical response to digital tapestry. 

Program for the Day

Living Room | 10 am - 4 pm
Eliot School faculty fiber artist Diane Ivey weaves recycled fabrics and fibers into large looms in this participatory activity, creating eclectic woven tapestries.

Bertucci Education Studio | 10 am - 4 pm
Design your own woven greeting card to share with family and friends.

Hostetter Gallery | 11 am, 1:45 pm
Neighborhood Salon Luminary Josh Knowles interprets Nevet Yitzhak's digital tapestries in WarCraft as a musical score.

Calderwood Hall | 11:30 am
Experience a fashion showcase curated by Nathalia JMag, featuring local designers I am Kreyol, Bre Budryk, Cornelius Ortiz, and Alexandra Renee Couture. 

Anne H. Fitzpatrick Facade | 12:30, 1:30 pm
Artist-in-Residence Steve Locke's piece Three Deliberate Grays for Freddie (A Memorial for Freddie Gray) comes to life with songs by the Hamilton-Garrett Music and Arts Academy Choir.

Palace | 1:15 pm
Experience a fashion showcase curated by Nathalia JMag, featuring local designers I am Kreyol, Bre Budryk, Cornelius Ortiz, and Alexandra Renee Couture.

Calderwood Hall | 3:15 pm
Watch a screening and participate in a panel discussion of Eternally Misunderstood, a documentary by Vanessa Ly, interviewing young women whose lives have been affected by incarceration.

Free admission will be available at the Museum entrance on Monday, October 8 starting at 10 am, on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission includes access to the entire Museum, including special exhibitions. To ensure everyone's experience at the Museum is pleasant, entry is timed every 30 minutes, beginning at 10 am, with the last entry at 4 pm.

Due to capacity regulations, the Museum may only admit a specific number of visitors at once. For your safety and the safety of the collection, visitors may be asked to wait in line to enter.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum experience is best suited for children ages seven and older.