Free First Thursday - October

Veronica Robles is a celebrated Mariachi singer, musician, Latin American folkloric dancer, and choreographer who has become a cultural icon for Latinos in Boston. Her pioneering use of arts and culture has united communities and raised awareness about the importance of diversity. As the Co-founder and Director of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC), she has transformed this grassroots organization into a vital hub for cultural enrichment, youth empowerment, and community action in East Boston. 
 

Veronica Robles Mariachi Band is Boston's first all-women mariachi band. Founded in 2019, this pioneering band delivers messages of peace and unity through their performances. 

Yu-Wen Wu (Taipei, Taiwan) is an artist who delves into the interplay between art, science, the natural world, and social and cultural issues. Her diverse body of work includes large-scale drawings, site-specific video installations, community-engaged practices, and public art. Yu-Wen’s artistic practice powerfully reflects her journey as an immigrant, delving into the complexities of migration, the nuances of identity, and global discourse. She invites audiences to reflect on their relationship with the environment and each other, creating immersive experiences that challenge conventional boundaries. Her durational works invite audiences to experience art as a process and enhance the cultural fabric of the communities involved.

Yu-Wen Wu’s work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.; Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece; Xippas Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland; Tufts University Art Galleries, Medford, MA; Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, NY; the Nielsen Library, Smith College, Northampton, MA; SITE, Santa Fe, NM; Perlman Teaching Museum at Carleton College, Northfield, MN; Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis MN; ICA MECA, Portland, ME; Rosecliff Mansion, Newport, RI; Center for Border Studies, Cucuta, Colombia; and the Praise Shadows Art Gallery, Brookline, MA.

She has received numerous awards, including the inaugural Prilla Smith Brackett Award (Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA), a national grant from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Brother Thomas Fellowship. In 2023. She was awarded the James and Audrey Foster Prize with a solo exhibition at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

Erika Rumbley is the Gardner Museum's Stanley P. Kozak Director of Horticulture. She works with a team of seven horticulturists to care for the Gardner’s Living Collection and create perpetually blooming displays in the Museum’s central courtyard. Erika is also a Co-Founder and Director of The New Garden Society, an organization dedicated to training students in the art and science of plants in Boston prisons and jails. Erika is a graduate of Vassar College, with an Honors BA in Environmental Studies. Since her first apprenticeship in 2005, Erika has grown ornamentals, cut flowers, fruit, and vegetables in fields and greenhouses in New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In a parallel vein, Erika has served a range of land-based non-profits as a facilitator and adult educator, including Southside Community Land Trust, Boston Natural Areas Network and The Trustees of Reservations.