April
Free First Thursday
Thursday
April 2, 2026
5 - 9 pm
Throughout the Museum
On April’s Free First Thursday, revel in the return of nasturtiums! A tradition started by Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1904, the Hanging Nasturtiums Courtyard installation is the Gardner's very own herald of spring. Celebrate the turning of the seasons—and all things nasturtium—as we make paper flowers, listen to the music of the plants, and create poetry together. Wear your best golds and fiery oranges to honor the beauty of the blossoms!
Program
Make Your Own Paper Nasturtiums
5–8 pm, Bertucci Education Studio
Get creative in the studio and make your own vine of paper nasturtiums to brighten up your home.
Creative Connection: Gallery Activity
5–8 pm, Hostetter Gallery
Take a moment to engage personally with the art featured in Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self with this self-guided poetry prompt. Paper and pencils will be provided outside Hostetter Gallery.
Performance by Skooby Laposky
5:30–6:15 pm & 7:30–8:15 pm, Courtyard
Listen to the sounds of nature and celebrate the return of the nasturtiums with Neighborhood Salon Luminary Skooby Laposky. The sound artist will use biodata sonification devices to measure electricity generated from the nasturtiums themselves, creating ambient music that gives voice to the plants around us.
Spotlight Talks
6 pm & 7 pm, Hostetter Gallery
Imagine you could be a different version of yourself. What parts of your identity might you reinvent? Explore these questions and learn more about our current exhibition Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self with a Museum Teacher.
Ask a Horticulturist
6–8 pm, Cloisters
Ask a Gardner Horticulturist about the secrets to growing nasturtiums. Find them in the Courtyard Cloisters—they'll be wearing a nasturtium pin!
Artist Bio
Photo by Steve Osemwenkhae
Skooby Laposky is a sound designer, educator, DJ, and artist based in Cambridge, MA, and Hudson, NY. He has shaped the personalities of consumer robots, produced original music for couture runway shows, remixed tracks for major label artists and global brands, and added emotional depth to documentary films through field recordings and original scores. His recent work centers on deep listening and biodata sonification, creating experiences that support restorative practices and foster environmental stewardship.
Recent projects include the public art installation Hidden Life Radio and his ongoing site-specific collaboration, Palm Reading, with Los Angeles–based guitarist Charles Copley. Palm Reading’s debut location releases, Malibu: Point Mugu and Joshua Tree, were issued on the Real Music label, followed by Walden Pond, a collection of compositions recorded in the woods made famous by Henry David Thoreau. Upcoming releases will feature recordings from the Angeles National Forest and at oases in Palestine and Israel.
In 2025, Laposky was named one of WBUR’s Makers and previously served as a Luminary in the Neighborhood Salon program at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. His work [ ] (The Storm Remembered / Reactivated), a sonic reimagining of the stolen Rembrandt painting Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, premiered in March 2025 in the Gardner Museum’s Dutch Room to mark the 35th anniversary of the infamous art theft.
March Free First Thursday is made possible by the Anne Hawley Fund for Programs.
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, the Rowland Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, The Beker 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, the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
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.
