Frank Hatch Free Day: Free First Thursday

Thursday
August 7, 2025
3 - 9 pm
Throughout the Museum

During August’s Free First Thursday, escape to the Gardner for a moment of respite and relaxation. Live music in the Courtyard, a meditative Tai Chi demonstration, and an engrossing brushwork workshop make this Frank Hatch Free Day a cool way to beat the heat...

And don’t miss the opportunity for a golden hour exploration of Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden, which features large-scale, playful sculptures of fruits, seeds, and hybrid plants. Also on view are Flowers for Isabella in the Fenway Gallery and Yu-Wen Wu’s Reigning Beauty, 2025 on the Anne H. Fitzpatrick Façade (also featured as part of the Boston Public Art Triennial). Café G is open late for dinner and drinks, and be sure to shop at the treasure trove that is Gift at the Gardner.

Program

Traditional Korean Brushwork Workshop led by artist Minhee Kim
5 pm–8 pm, Bertucci Education Studio
This activity will be divided into four 30 minute sessions with a 15-minute break in between. Sign up for a spot in one of the four-30 minute workshops when you arrive at the Studio. There will be limited seating and Studio staff will reserve a time slot for you!

5–5:30 pm
5:45–6:15 pm
6:30–7 pm
7:15–7:45 pm

Experience the joy of creativity and self-expression as your unique ink flower comes to life.
Through a technique that uses the balance of ink and water on mulberry paper to make a blooming effect, the natural flow of ink produces soft gradients and organic shapes, capturing a spontaneous beauty. Like a snowflake, no two ink flowers are the same.

Tai Chi Demonstration
6 –6:30 pm & 7– 7:30 pm, Jordan Garden
Join Suzanne M. Clark as she demonstrates basic Tai Chi movements in the Jordan Garden. Visitors are encouraged to try these basic movements themselves throughout the demonstration.

Courtyard Music Performance
6:30 – 7:15 pm, Palace Courtyard
Be delighted by the wonderful sounds of pianist and vocalist Ebba Dankel and Formas String Quartet in the Palace’s historic Courtyard.

Artists

Young Asian woman looking directly at the camera.

Young woman with long brown hair, smiling leaning against a string instument.

Blurred photo of a young woman in a black dress, short hair looking directly at the camera.

Four young adults standing outdoors holding string instruments smililng.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Minhee Kim is an artist and instructor specializing in traditional Korean ink painting. Currently, she teaches sumukhwa (ink painting) at the New England Korean School, offers freelance classes in the community, and participates in Korean cultural outreach as a member of the Korean Cultural Society, KCS, Boston. Born and raised in Korea, Minhee began learning calligraphy at the age of nine and studied Korean painting at Suwon University’s College of Fine Arts and Museum Studies at Hongik University. Her work and instruction are rooted in traditional Korean painting techniques and strive to express a modern sensibility through simplification.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Jackson

Suzanne M. Clark is a Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music, with 27 years experience. In addition, Clark has authored five courses that focus on different topics including The Beatles, Tai Chi and Qigong, and Creativity in Music. She received recognition from the college as recipient of the Don Wilkins Award for Curriculum Advancement for her course creation, and was solicited to co-author two courses for Berklee Online's degree program in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games that combine Traditional Harmony with the Harmony of Popular Music. Clark authored and teaches an online graduate course for the Critical and Creative Thinking Program at UMass Boston that focuses on the field of creativity, creative process, creative blocks, and tools for healthy creative engagement.

Photo courtesy of Liam Rosenthal

Ebba Dankel (b. 2000, Malmö, Sweden) is a Boston-based pianist, vocalist, and songwriter whose music blends jazz tradition with heartfelt, contemporary storytelling. Dankel has studied at several renowned jazz programs, including Malmö Latinskola (2016–2019), Skurups Folkhögskola (2019–2021), and Berklee College of Music, where she is completing her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition (2021–2025). Dankel has worked with musicians such as Jon Batiste, Becca Stevens, and Elena Pinderhughes. Drawing from her Scandinavian roots and experiences across Sweden and the U.S., Dankel continues to create music that is emotionally resonant, harmonically rich, and grounded in the human experience.

Photo courtesy of the artists

Formas is an imaginative Boston-based string quartet that draws upon the musical traditions of jazz, western classical, and improvisation, and centers itself around innovative collaboration and the commissioning and premiering of new works. After forming in 2022, Formas quickly became a favorite ensemble of Berklee-based musicians. Each member of Formas is a composer and writes and arranges for the group. Their repertoire includes a mix of original pieces, standards of the western classical canon and jazz tradition, improvisational work, and new works in the contemporary classical, jazz, and pop genres.

Tickets

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.

Frank Hatch Free Day is held annually in honor of Francis "Frank" Hatch (1925-2010), longtime Gardner Museum trustee, community advocate, and supporter of the arts and culture in the city.

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.