Boston Flora

Tag: Peabody Essex Museum

  • Saturday, September 16, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Immersive Watercolor Workshop with Nadine Mazzola

    Explore wind, water and sky with watercolor at the Ropes Mansion Garden on September 16 from 2 – 3:30. Immerse yourself in the inner and outer process of creation and make art in dialogue with nature. Instructor Nadine Mazzola will guide participants in weaving together mindfulness, reflection and the act of painting, encouraging each person’s own unique expression. Through playful experimentation, we will explore and celebrate creativity in the natural world and ourselves. All materials are provided and no experience is necessary for this class. Ages 10 and up welcome. Free. Register at https://my.pem.org/17575/20955

    Nadine Mazzola is a forest therapy guide, expressive arts teacher and author of the award-winning book Forest Bathing with Your Dog. She has worked with conservation, educational and health organizations, speaking on forest bathing and conducting workshops around New England. She also leads team wellness retreats and advises businesses on how to incorporate nature into their wellness programs. Mazzola is a senior trainer and advisor for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and has appeared on PBS, ABC and in The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine. Learn more on her website, nenft.com.

  • Saturday & Sunday, November 19 & 20, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Recycled Container Herb Terrariums

    For this Peabody Essex Museum project we will create our own five layer terrarium using recycled clear containers, fresh mint and more. When a terrarium is closed, it creates a greenhouse effect, keeping plants warm and hydrated. Create your own self-replenishing herb garden and save yourself a trip to the grocery store! Free with admission.

    Drop-in Art Making is held in-person every weekend in our Create Space studios. All activities are created and led by PEM’s education team and are suitable for all ages. For more information visit https://www.pem.org/whats-on/events/2022-11-16/7

  • Through February 5, 2023 – Down to the Bone: Edward Koren and Stephen Gorman

    Working independently, award-winning nature photographer Stephen Gorman and beloved New Yorker artist Edward Koren respond to the consequences of destabilizing our natural environment and speak to their alarm about the global climate crisis. The artists have come together to express their two very different — but mutually reinforcing — visions. The exhibition centers on the uncanny synergy between Gorman’s wildlife and landscape photographs, and Koren’s drawings, lithographs, and etchings.

    Gorman’s photographs in this exhibit were created in Kaktovik, Alaska – an Inupiat village in the embattled Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, sitting directly in the political, cultural, and environmental crosshairs of the Anthropocene. The polar bears in Gorman’s images are climate refugees facing extinction as the arctic sea ice they depend on for survival retreats at a rapid rate.

    In creating the works in this Peabody Essex Museum exhibition, on view through February 5, Koren has described himself as a dramatist of the Anthropocene. His bemused and bewildered creatures, caught between fear and acceptance, occupy landscapes in which human culture has been fragmented and reduced to ruins. His hapless creatures suggest a profound realization of what is unraveling at their feet and speak to the folly of not caring for the environment that sustains us all. For complete details visit www.pem.org Down to the Bone: Edward Koren and Stephen Gorman is presented as part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative and is made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. Additional support was provided by the Creighton family, Susan and Appy Chandler, Peter and Sandra Lawrence and individuals who support the Exhibition Incubation Fund: Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.

  • Through January 1, 2023 – Konstantin Dimopoulos: The Blue Trees

    Konstantin Dimopoulos’ The Blue Trees installation is an environmental call to action. Using a biologically-safe watercolor and a team of community volunteers, the artist temporarily transforms a selection of trees on the Peabody Essex Museum’s campus to focus our attention on the growing issue of deforestation and other threats to trees around the globe. The harmless blue colorant will wash away over time, and the trees will gradually return to their natural state.

    Why blue? Dimopoulos chose this color because blue trees do not exist in nature. By doing so, he compels us to take notice of these otherworldly trees and prompts a larger conversation about the role of trees in our local environment and elsewhere on the planet — where rampant deforestation is a significant contributor to climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

    The installation on PEM’s campus is the 27th international Blue Trees installation by Dimopoulos and the first one in the Greater Boston area. The Blue Trees take their place in a long line of public works by this award-winning artist, all with a strong social conscience that span a wide array of media and concerns.

    Konstantin Dimopoulos: The Blue Trees is presented as part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative and is made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. Additional support was provided by The Creighton Family, Appy and Susan Chandler and Peter and Sandra Lawrence. Thank you to those individuals who support the Exhibition Incubation Fund: Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum

    For more information on hours and admission, visit www.pem.org.

  • Saturday, April 2 – Climate Action : Inspiring Change Opening at Peabody Essex Museum

    How can we transform the climate crisis into hope for our shared future? PEM’s timely exhibition brings together dynamic contemporary art, hands-on experiences and inspiring works by youth artists to help guide us toward making a difference for the planet.

    The majority of Americans are anxious about the climate, yet only a small percentage of us actually talk about it or know how to make a positive impact. Our choices and actions regarding the environment will require imagination and vision, and the steps we take today will have far-reaching ramifications. Now is the time to be bold!

    Climate Action leverages creativity, science and participation to raise awareness about the underlying issues of climate change, focusing on known solutions, including Indigenous practices, to foster action. The goal is for each of us to move beyond our fear and feelings of helplessness and make informed choices to take positive steps forward. Collectively, as a growing community, we can take actions that will help lead to a climate-stable and environmentally-just future for all.

    On view in the Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center, this exhibition highlights local and regional climate issues and opportunities. Most of the 30 featured artists are based in New England — including works by 10 award-winning youth who participated in the Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis international student art contest in 2020 organized by Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs.

    To create Climate Action, PEM partnered with The Climate Museum in New York, the first museum in the nation dedicated to the climate crisis. The exhibition is presented as part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative and is made possible by the Dorothy Brown Bequest for Art and Nature and the Albert M. Creighton III Fund for

    Art and Nature. Special thanks to the Creighton family for their generous gift. Additional support was provided by Peter and Sandra Lawrence and individuals who support the Exhibition Incubation Fund: Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum. The exhibit will run through July 30, 2023.

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  • Tuesdays – Fridays through June 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Family Planting Days

    Join Peabody Essex Museum’s Head Gardener Robin Pydynkowski for a unique hands-on gardening experience. With over an acre of land for safe social distancing, the Ropes Mansion Garden provides an opportunity to connect with nature, learn about planting, and help beautify one of Salem’s historic outdoor spots. Participating families will be assigned a section of an annual bed to plant with the freedom to create their own design, all while learning the basics of gardening!

    To ensure safe distancing, each two-hour planting session is limited to two families (with a maximum of four individuals per group) and face masks are required. No experience or tools are necessary, just bring a willingness to dig in and get your hands dirty. Everyone is welcome back this summer to visit the garden to see and savor the flowers of their labors.

    In this unique outdoor classroom experience, students will:

    • Use their senses to explore and investigate the world around them.
    • Learn about parts of plants and their functions: roots, seeds, leaves, stems and flowers.
    • Discover tips for proper spacing and how to “place and face” the plants for the best presentation as to how they will be viewed.

    Location: Ropes Mansion Garden, 318 Essex St., Salem
    Free for all; Recommended for ages 5 and up
    Limited number of spaces available
    To register or if you have questions, please email ticketing@pem.org or call 978-238-0410. Please include your preference of date and time in your email.

  • Sunday, July 29, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm – Sunset on the Charles: Composition and Low Light Shooting Workshop

    This Museum of Fine Arts Boston workshop on Sunday, July 29 from 6 – 9:30 combines low-light shooting and formal composition techniques while photographing along the banks of the Charles River. Cover a variety of technical strategies for achieving intriguing photographs while shooting during the “golden hour,” twilight, dusk, and at night.

    Students must bring their own DSLR camera with manual settings and supplies. Students are responsible for providing their own supplies. View the supply list by going to https://www.mfa.org/programs/studio-art-classes/adult/supply-list.

    MFA members $50, nonmembers $65. Order online at https://www.mfa.org/programs/studio-art-class/sunset-on-the-charles-composition-and-low-light-shooting-workshop-0 To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975; to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.

    Instructor Georgie Friedman received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in conjunction with Tufts University (2008) and her BA from UC, Santa Cruz (1996). Recent exhibitions include: Ripple Effect, Peabody Essex Museum, MA (2011-12); Above the Clouds (solo), concurrent exhibit at Carroll and Sons & Anthony Greaney, MA (2011); The 2010 DeCordova Biennial, MA; among others. She teaches a variety of photography and video based classes at several local institutions, including Boston College, SMFA and MassArt. Her current projects include photographic works and experiential video installations that highlight our physical relationship to interior vs. exterior elements and uncontrollable natural forces.

  • Through August 4, 2019 – Wild Designs

    Wild Designs at the Peabody Essex Museum features works by artists and other creatives who are looking to nature and living systems for new ideas and creative solutions to human problems. The exhibition takes place in PEM’s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center and explores biomimetic and bio-informed innovations in design and technology that either model or engage nature to generate novel products and more sustainable solutions. Included are design projects ranging from preliminary concepts to realized products and buildings, as well as mixed media sculptures, artist installations and drawings.

    Some of the featured designs will be as familiar as velcro, created in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, who went for a walk in the woods and wondered if the burrs that clung to his socks — and his dog — could be turned into something useful. An air purifier made from a living plant inspired by early research from NASA turns nature into practicality as does a backpack designed to mimic the sliding scales of a pangolin. MiRo, a personal companion robot that resembles a small dog, includes smart sensors based on 20 years of research on animal brains and behaviors by UK scientists.

    Other featured projects aid with energy conservation, personal gear design, agriculture and water collection. One exhibition area features Geckskin, a super adhesive based on the toe pads of geckos created by researchers at UMass Amherst. This inspired material allows for an index card-sized piece to hold around 700 pounds without leaving behind a sticky residue. Scaling a building, like Spiderman, by wearing a pair of gecko-tape gloves may not be too far off.

    The exhibition will be on view through August 4, 2019. Image below is Jube, 2015, a bioinspired live edible insect trap, modeled after pitcher plants. Biomimicry Global Design Challenge entry by Pat Pataranutaporn with Ratchaphak Tantisanghirun, Purichaya Kuptajit, Tavita Kulsupakarn, Alfredo Raphael. Image courtesy of BioX team.

     

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  • Thursday, April 12, 6:00 pm – Crossing Over: A Photographer in the Museum of Comparative Zoology

    Photographer Rosamond Purcell explores the hidden corners of scientific collections, the boundaries between art and science, and the mysteries of metamorphosis. In this Harvard Museum of Natural History lecture on Thursday, April 12 at 6 pm, Purcell will recount her long-standing relationship with Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology and explain how its collections have served as models and inspiration for her strangely beautiful, often unsettling images. Following the presentation, Jane Winchell, Director of The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center at the Peabody Essex Museum, will engage Purcell and audience members in a discussion about the value of seeing natural history collections as works of art in order to better appreciate and understand nature. Free and open to the public. The lecture will take place in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Free event parking at 52 Oxford Street Garage.

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  • Wednesday, August 23, 9:30 am – 10:30 am – Containers: From Summer to Fall

    Learn how a little pruning, transplanting and even adding edibles can give your planters a fresh new look for the fall season. Led by Robin Pydynkowski, head gardener of the Ropes Mansion Garden, this Peabody Essex Museum workshop is free, but reservations required at http://my.pem.org/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=6047, no later than August 22. The Ropes Mansion Botanical Lecture Fund makes this workshop possible. Meet at 9:30 am on Wednesday, August 23 at the Ropes Mansion, 318 Essex St. in Salem.