Meeting Esther: A Cross-Cultural Night of Art and Music

September 2026

Thursday
September 3, 2026
5 - 8 pm
Throughout the Museum

The story of Queen Esther has inspired people of a variety of religious and cultural traditions for generations—from her birthplace in ancient Persia to Amsterdam in the 1600s. Join us as we bring some of those cultural traditions to life on September’s first Free Thursday Night.

Program

Stories Within: Scroll Making with Polly Thayer Starr Studio Visiting Artist Becky Behar
5 – 8 pm, Bertucci Education Studio
Inspired by the story of Esther and the creative potential of an unfurling story, we invite you to use one of the oldest forms of bookmaking to create a personal scroll. Reflect upon the many layers of identity and experience we carry within us through collage, drawing, and stitching in the Studio.

Music by Ira Klein
5:30 and 7 pm, Courtyard
Guitarist and composer Ira Klein will present a program of traditional Ladino, North African, and Middle Eastern Jewish music, highlighting the diversity and richness of musical traditions seldom known in the US. Additionally, Klein will share selections of his original musical project inspired by The Catalan Mahzor, a medieval illuminated Judeo-Spanish manuscript.

The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt Spotlight Talks
5 pm, 6 pm, and 7 pm, Hostetter Gallery
Learn from a Museum Teacher about the story of the Jewish heroine and how her bravery has inspired people across time and place.

Photo provided by the artist

Becky Behar is an artist in the Boston area whose photo-based practice explores motherhood, domesticity, and the link between generations. Born in Colombia, she blends autobiography and fiction, drawing inspiration from Dutch painting and using light, shadow, and symbolic still lifes to examine memory, faith, and inherited gestures. Her practice spans photography, artist books, and installation, inviting viewers to engage with stories through immersive and participatory experiences.

Behar has exhibited nationally and internationally, including a pop-up exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and solo exhibitions around the country including The Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA), Kniznick Gallery (Waltham, MA), and Workspace Gallery (Lincoln, NE). Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Lilith, and What Will You Remember? She received the 2025 Isaac Anolic Jewish Book Arts Award and is a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center.

Photo provided by the artist

Ira Klein is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and educator. Specializing in Middle-Eastern music and music for dance, he seamlessly combines a lifelong passion for musical traditions with a love of experimentation.

A recipient of numerous awards from foundations such as LABA New York, J Arts Boston, and the Mass Cultural Council, Ira has appeared on NPR, WGBH, CBC, Jewish Renaissance, and Americana UK. He has performed with world-renowned artists including McArthur Fellow Claire Chase, saxophonist Neil Leonard, and guitarist Kevin Barry (Jackson Browne), and served as a music curator for Intentional Beauty, the Judaica gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Ira has been invited to present performances, visiting talks, and clinics at Berklee, Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, UMass Amherst, and Bard College. He holds degrees from Berklee College of Music and Bard College, and is a certified K-12 educator.

Free, but space is limited. Advance registration is recommended. Tickets will become available two days before/each Tuesday the week of the desired date.

Get tickets:
• Online, by clicking the Get Tickets button above
• By calling the Box Office at 617 278 5156, Wednesday–Monday, 10 am–4 pm
• In person: Purchase at the ticket desk Wednesday–Monday, 11 am–4:30 pm
• Limited tickets will be available in-person at the Museum’s main entrance, starting at 5 pm the day of the event. Please note that day-of tickets are not guaranteed.

Questions about accessibility? Please visit the Accessibility page or 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.

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

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

The Neighborhood Salon is supported in part by the Anne Hawley Fund for Programs, the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.