Worcester Art Museum Announces Winter/Spring Lineup of Programs and Public Events

Two Free Admission Days, Community Celebrations, New Art, and the 21st-Annual Flora in Winter

Worcester, MA—February 8, 2024—The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) will host a lineup of programs and events this winter and spring that will provide Worcester-area visitors with opportunities to see art in fresh ways. Notably, the schedule features the Museum’s highly anticipated annual Flora in Winter, a four-day takeover of the Museum with art-inspired floral designs. The Museum will be open on both Presidents Day and Patriots Day and is offering free admission for those days. The months of February through April will feature special events, talks, demonstrations, and more. Additionally, the exhibition New Terrain: 21st-Century Landscape Photography, will be on view starting April 6, with special tours and talks by curators and artists. To view all upcoming programs, events, and exhibitions, visit worcesterart.org.

“We are excited to be hosting our 21st-annual Flora in Winter starting February 29, and offering a welcome escape from the dark, cold months,” says Marnie Weir, Director of Learning and Engagement. “There is something for everyone at the Museum and we are thrilled to also be offering a free community celebration in May, and to bring a variety of events, programs, and learning opportunities during the upcoming season.”

Flora in Winter 2024

Thursday, February 29–Sunday, March 3

Visitors can see art in a new way with this four-day floral takeover of the Museum. Works of art are reimagined by florists and reinterpreted into floral arrangements throughout the galleries.

Related events for this four-day event will include talks, demonstrations, and special evening hours. Flora in Winter2024 is a Museum-wide takeover and general admission prices do not apply during this time. Members receive free admission. Adult and seniors, $30; Youth 17 and under, $7; Institutional Members, $15. Admission tickets are available at the door only.

Tours and Talks

The Museum offers tours of highlighted objects from its global collection every Sunday at 1 pm. Led by knowledgeable docents, these tours offer visitors a trip through the galleries to discover key works from the vast collection. In addition, special exhibition tours are available on the weekends. Visit worcesterart.org for more information.

On February 22, the Museum will present the Amelia and Robert H. Haley Memorial Lecture: Faith Ringgold’s Story at Tuckerman Hall. Michele Wallace (professor, author, and Ringgold’s daughter) and Dorian Bergen (Ringgold’s longtime gallerist) will give a talk offered in conjunction with the Museum’s ongoing exhibition, Faith Ringgold: Freedom to Say What I Please. Dorian Bergen is the President of New York’s American Contemporary Art Galleries (ACA Galleries). Bergen first met Ringgold in the mid-1990s and has been advocating for the artist’s rightful place in the art world since. Join these two experts for this landmark talk on Faith Ringgold’s life and art.

The Museum hosts a variety of talks by experts and artists throughout the season. Visit worcesterart.org to learn more about talks.

Free Admission

This winter and spring, the Museum is proud to offer opportunities for free admission and additional hours on select Monday holidays. These and many other opportunities for learning and engagement will be a part of the upcoming season and available at the Museum. To learn more, visit worcesterart.org.

Exhibitions

Rembrandt: Etchings from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen features over 80 works, including 70 etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), and explores the life and self-taught skill of the Dutch artist. This exhibition comes to Worcester from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and is among the largest exhibitions of the artist’s etchings to ever be shown in the United States. Closing February 19.

Faith Ringgold: Freedom to Say What I Please is a succinct survey of Ringgold’s art, centered around a cornerstone work from the Worcester Art Museum’s collection: Picasso’s Studio (1991). Acquired in the 1990s, it is a prime example of her “story quilts,” objects that combine painting, storytelling, and quilting. On view now.

New Terrain: 21st-Century Landscape Photography is a new exhibition focused on how 21st-century artists use different photographic processes to explore the idea of landscape. Comprising approximately 30 artworks created over the past 20 years, the exhibition will highlight a wide range of techniques—including 3-D printing, weaving, embroidery, collage, and the use of nontraditional materials like rusted cans and lake water—that reinterpret the traditional practice of photography. Through these artworks, New Terrain serves as an entry point into deeper narratives about technology, identity, political activism, and history.