Free First Thursday - June 5, 2025

Thursday, June 5, 2025
3 - 9 pm
Throughout the Museum

Join us for Pride!

For June’s Free First Thursday, celebrate Pride month with an exciting evening of community, self-expression, and art.

On this Free First Thursday, you can:

Design your own felt creature inspired by animals found in the Palace Courtyard. Add keychain rings to carry your new friend everywhere you go!

Enjoy vinyl DJ sets all evening with DJ Dayglow and Coleslaw.

Catch a special drag performance by Coleslaw in the Courtyard.

Unwind in the Living Room and play yard games in Jordan Garden.

Photo Credit: Rodrigo Larios and The Theater Offensive

Program

Felt creature keychain making
Bertucci Education Studio, New Wing
5 - 8 pm

Music by DJ Dayglow and Coleslaw
Courtyard, Palace
5:30 - 8:30 pm

Drag performance by Coleslaw
Courtyard, Palace
6:45 pm

Yard Games
Jordan Garden
5 - 8 pm

Unwind
Living Room
5 - 9 pm

About the Artists

Young woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and bright red lipstick with a multicolored top with squares and orange slacks.

Person with short red hair and colorful, blue, sparkle eye makeup and bright red lipstick.

Photo of a young Asian woman with long,dark hair, bangs, glasses, brown jacket and white shitrt looking at the camera with a slight smile

Photo courtesy of the artist

DJ DAYGLOW Kara Stokowski
Kara Stokowski is a DJ and artist living in Providence, RI. She started DJing while she was a student at MassArt in the Studio for Interrelated Media program, right next to the Gardner. After college she began collaborating with art institutions around Boston, providing a soundtrack for gallery openings, celebrations, and fundraisers. She spins eclectic pop and disco, always drawing from the rich history of LGBTQ sounds and culture to bring depth and perspective to her sets. She inherited her father's record collection in 2012 and bought her first set of turntables in 2015 with the intention of bringing her digital practice into an analog and more material format. She is an avid record collector and loves the ways that music intersects with history to form a tapestry of culture.
@djdayglow

Photo courtesy of the artist

Coleslaw
Coleslaw is a mutlimedia artist, performer, and DJ based out of the New England area. They have been producing drag shows and nightlife events since 2011; most notable is their ongoing award-winning collaboration at the Museum of Science, Boston, Coleslaw's Corner. This production takes place inside of the Charles Hayden Planetarium and has been captivating audiences since 2017.
@creamydreamycoleslaw

Photo courtesy of the artist

Mimi Zhang
Mimi Zhang was the Polly Thayer Starr Intern of the Gardner Museum for the 2024-2025 academic year. They recently graduated with their BA and BFA from Tufts/SMFA. Their ongoing work focuses on taking the concept “museum as temple” literally. They employ methodologies such as biomythography to achieve their artistic practice. Mimi also started an art collective with a friend a few years back. Mimi’s work has been exhibited in California, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Their piece Ashima + Ahei recently won Juror’s Choice at Boston City Hall’s eighth annual Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition.

Free First Thursdays

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.

Questions about accessibility? Please call the box office at 617 278 5156.

Free days are supported in part by the Wallace Minot Leonard Foundation, the Board of Advisors 2022 Fund for Access, and Thomas G. Stemberg Charitable Foundation.

Education and community programs receive support from the Vertex Foundation, Rowland Foundation, the Yawkey Foundation, The Beker Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, The Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation, Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation, and Janet Burke Mann Foundation.

Studio activities are generously sponsored by the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust.

The Neighborhood Salon is supported in part by the Anne Hawley Fund for Programs and the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust.

The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which is supported by the state of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.