Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

The gardner's education and public programs create welcoming and enjoyable learning experiences. Known for a commitment to excellence in teaching as well as collaborating with local artists and communities, the gardner offers a rich variety of programs and resources for children and adults that spark in-depth experiences with works of art and present opportunities to engage with some of today's most creative individuals. In addition to high-quality professional development for teachers and docents, the museum conducts thoughtful research that brings new knowledge to the museum education field. The thinking through art k-12 program, known for its emphasis on close looking and interpretation, has produced research on how in-depth experiences with art helped boston students develop significantly more critical thinking skills than students in control schools without the program. Working with local artists, performers, cultural leaders and community organizations, the museum works to build mutually beneficial relationships. First free thursdays, a successful evening program for young adults, has become a model for museums around the country in engaging young, local audiences. Neighborhood salon luminaries and studio artist programs build community with local artists and creatives, connecting them with the museum, the staff, collection, and resources, informing future program co-creation and artistic responses to the gardner. Exhibition interpretation and programming feature a variety of perspectives, creating multiple entry points for visitors. The gardner ambassadors paid internship provides practical, compensated job pathways for local community and state (umass boston) college students, emphasizing both personal career development as well as grounding their learning in the visitor experience.

Music - a vital part of isabella stewart gardner's vision, music continues to be central to the gardner museum's interdisciplinary mission. Isabella's museum opened in 1903 with a concert by the boston symphony orchestra, and her dynamic musical legacy continues today with the country's oldest museum-based concert series. The museum's sunday concert series presents outstanding established and emerging musicians in the museum's intimate concert space, calderwood hall. The performers, composers, and repertoire featured in the museum's musical programming reflect a commitment to excellence, while the commissioning of new works celebrates the innovative perspectives of contemporary artists. The music department presents multidisciplinary performances that respond to the museum's collection and exhibitions through dance, music, spoken word, and theater.

Landscape & horticulture - in building the museum, the first public institution on the newly constructed back bay fens, isabella stewart gardner contributed to a conception of the city as shaped by landscape architecture. The museum remains committed to being a preeminent cultural venue for landscape and its role in the contemporary city. The landscape department curates exhibitions and convenes public programs on topics of societal, environmental, and cultural significance for contemporary boston. These programs present our audiences with the most pressing challenges of the day, as well as the role of design and planning in addressing those challenges. The museum maintains a varied living plant collection, with many species descending from the founder's own era. Additionally, the horticulture department propagates thousands of plants each year for seasonal displays in its iconic courtyard. The monk's garden, horticulture workshops, and other programming further bring the art of horticulture to life as part of the museum experience.

Contemporary art - the artist-in-residence program is one of the oldest in the country, beginning in the early days of the museum when gardner's friend john singer sargent stayed in an apartment on the ground floor. Since 1992 the museum has invited artists from all creative disciplines and backgrounds to once again stay on the premises to research, work and respond to the collection, offering fresh perspectives on gardner's creation. In 2012, the museum amplified its commitment to this program by opening two purpose built apartments for artists in the new wing. These artists often return multiple times to find inspiration, to enjoy the gift of time and to stay connected to the museum in meaningful ways. Thanks to the new strategic plan, the contemporary department has continued to forge dynamic new connections between museum audiences, living artists and the collection, while expanding the focus on specific thematic exhibition projects and commissions, which connect gardner's total work of art to relevant issues of contemporary culture.