Free museums and galleries to visit in Medford and Boston
Rachel Perry’s “Kleenex, Tea, Chocolate, Covid Test, Cold Compress, Hairbrush and Two Crackers” at the Aidekman Arts Center. Photo: Tufts University Art Galleries
Need an escape from the summer heat? Try a cool stroll through a gallery. Tufts Now has rounded up some of the art you can see on view on and near campus.
SMFA at 150: Looking Back
This exhibition from Tufts University Art Galleries will honor the 150th anniversary of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University with a look back at the school’s history, as told by alumni artists and curators. It starts with the school’s origins in the basement of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1876 and traces key movements and alumni of the school, from the Boston Expressionist painters to the radical break in curriculum in 1968. It also highlights the printshop anti-war poster takeover following the Kent State shootings and the lighter fare of the 1990s, including the SMFA Cheerleaders and Kaiju Big Battel, which began as live performances in the atrium. It runs July 28 to Nov. 8 at SMFA. There will be a community-wide reception for the exhibition on Sept. 17.
A SMFA portfolio from 1987-88. Photo: Tufts University Art Galleries
Arnold J. Kemp: Not One Thing
On July 28, Tufts University Art Galleries in Medford will present a homecoming solo exhibition of one of SMFA’s most notable graduates, Arnold J. Kemp, A91 (BA/BFA). The Chicago-based artist works across painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and printmaking. His work grapples with legacies of conceptualism, Black and diasporic experiences, queer relationalities, and modes of being. There is a reception for the exhibition on Sept. 24.
“Mr. Kemp: Yellowing, Drying, Scorching,” 2020, by Arnold J. Kemp. The piece is composed of a vinyl chair, vinyl seat cushions, thermometer, and 40 copies of Kemp’s 1972 “Eat of Me: I Am the Savior.” Photo: courtesy of the artist and Martos Gallery, New York.
Public Art at Tufts
Take a visit to some of the 12 works of public art displayed across Tufts campuses. Starting July 21 at SMFA, a new diptych by Creighton Baxter, A13 (BFA), titled Again Again Again and You Missed will be on view.
At the Aidekman Arts Center on the Medford Campus, Rachel Perry's Kleenex, Tea, Chocolate, Covid Test, Cold Compress, Hairbrush and Two Crackers, 2026, debuts on July 30.
“Again Again Again” and “You Missed” by Creighton Baxter, A13 (BFA). Photo: Tufts University Art Galleries
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Tufts students, faculty, and staff receive free admission to the MFA with a Tufts ID, providing access to a sprawling collection of art spanning centuries. On view now is an exhibition on Jewish culture in the 17th century Dutch Republic and the work of Rembrandt van Rijn. Opening on Aug. 1 is an exhibition featuring Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí’s livres d’artiste, or art books.
SMFA Library Artists’ Books Collection
Famous artists from around the world, as well as recent graduates, are represented in the approximately 2,000-item artists’ books collection at the SMFA Library. From Urdu poetry adorned with hand-painted flowers and gold leaf details, to a tribute to Cajun sausages, the collection offers plenty of creative reading.
At about 2,000 items, the SMFA library’s artists’ books collection is known for its eclecticism. Photo: Alonso Nichols
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
ArtsMedford has an exhibition at the Medford Public Library for the entire month of August in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Plus, on Aug. 8, the organization is hosting a craft fair featuring 20 local artists at 160 High Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
