Thursday Nights at the Museum
Join us for an evening of art, conversation, and community at the Art Complex Museum.
The evening begins at 5 p.m. with a reception and light refreshments. On the third Thursday of each month, enjoy Opening Notes, a performance series featuring students from South Shore Conservatory.
From 6—7 p.m., featured artists and authors will share insights into their work through a series of talks, offering a deeper look at the ideas, processes, and inspirations behind the exhibitions.
The museum remains open until 8 p.m., so be sure to stay and explore the exhibitions after the talks.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
Meet the Collection: A Staff Picks Tour
Thursday, October 8 | 6—7 p.m.
Join Curator Julia Courtney & Collections Manager Kyle Turner for a walk-through of Staff Picks, with ACM staff sharing their selections.
Julia and Kyle will guide the group through the show, sharing background on the works on view, while several staff members join in to talk about the piece they chose and why it resonated with them. A behind-the-scenes look at how the museum’s collection speaks to the people who care for it every day.
Free
A Conversation with Dr. Robert D. Mowry & Andy Moerlein
Thursday, October 15 | 6—7 p.m.
With Opening Notes from the Ladybugs | 5—6 p.m.
The evening begins with a performance by The Ladybugs, a 4-piece rock band based out of Duxbury, Massachusetts with support from South Shore Conservatory. Featuring Ivy Krebs on drums, Kaylan Albertson on bass, Liv Bowden on guitar, and Katia Semyrog on keys, the band performs a wide variety of music from The Beatles to Fleetwood Mac and Oasis, to more modern offerings like The Warning as well as original music written by various members of the band. Their 4-part vocal harmonies are the icing on the cake, and their performances are sure to captivate audiences of all ages!
This rock music performance is followed by Robert D. Mowry, Curator Emeritus of Chinese Art, Harvard Art Museums, currently a Christies Expert Guide and Author of Worlds Within Worlds. The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars’ Rocks, who brings acclaimed scholars’ rocks to life through vivid imagery, tracing how simple geological formations became prized treasures. He explores the long history of rock collecting in China, drawing on striking examples from the Richard Rosenblum Collection, among others.
This talk is for the art-curious and stone novice alike, as well as the deeply entranced lithophile. Bob shares personal experiences with the characters and stones that have shaped his scholarly life and writings, offering insights and anecdotes about the favored stones Chinese literati once displayed in the rarefied atmosphere of their studios.
Free
Art Complex After Dark: The Ghosts of Massachusetts
Thursday, October 29 | 6—7 p.m.
Join author and storyteller Roxie Zwicker for an evening exploring the eerie side of Massachusetts.
The Bay State is home to some of the most historic places in America — and where there’s history, there are ghost stories. Enjoy a spirited evening of spooky stories, and discover everything from curious abandoned places and haunted beaches to tavern spirits and centuries-old cemeteries.
Roxie brings over 25 years of experience unearthing New England’s local legends, lore, and history, sharing tales collected from towns and back roads across the region. This fun and folklore-filled program uncovers the stories that linger across Massachusetts.
Whether you’re a longtime ghost story enthusiast or just looking for a spooky night out ahead of Halloween, join us at the Art Complex Museum for the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season.
Free
An Evening with Kate Gilbert and Danielle Krcmar: The Art of Paying Attention
Thursday, November 5 | 6—7 p.m.
Join artists Kate Gilbert and Danielle Krcmar for a conversation about the art of paying attention. Exhibiting artists Kate Gilbert and Danielle Krcmar will explore how found objects, chance, and care shape our relationship to ecology and social systems.
Gilbert’s sculpture and installation work repurposes overlooked and impermanent materials — insulation, fabric, salvaged asphalt — to question who shapes our ideas of comfort, shelter, and consumption, and at what cost.
Krcmar’s environmental and architectural sculpture draws on found and reclaimed materials to reveal the histories embedded in a place, from woodland landscapes to the ruins left behind by disaster. Together, they’ll discuss what it means to notice, gather, and care for what’s already there — and how chance encounters with discarded or natural materials can become a way of thinking about ecological and social interdependence.
This talk is offered in conjunction with the exhibition Interpreting the Natural: Contemporary Visions of Scholars’ Rocks.
Free
An Evening with Dr. Nancy Berliner: Inspired by Rocks
Thursday, December 3 | 6—7 p.m.
Join us for an evening celebrating the ancient Chinese tradition of scholars’ rocks and its enduring influence on contemporary art.
The evening opens with a welcome and introduction by Donna Dodson, guest curator of the Scholars’ Rocks exhibition, who will in turn introduce our featured speaker, Dr. Nancy Berliner, Wu Tung Senior Curator of Chinese Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Dr. Berliner will present Inspired by Rocks: A Chinese Tradition and Its Unending Influence, tracing the centuries-old practice of collecting and contemplating scholars’ rocks (gongshi) and exploring how this tradition continues to shape artists working today.
Following the talk, Dodson and Berliner will lead a curators’ walk-through of the exhibition, discussing objects on view and the ideas behind them. The evening will close with remarks connecting each artist in the exhibition to the themes raised in Dr. Berliner’s talk.
Free
