Isabella Gardner Museum: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

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Dates:	Monday, January 19, 2026 - Monday, January 19, 2026
Hours:	11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Ages:	Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Adults
In/Outdoor:	Indoor
Cost:	Free
Category:	Arts & Culture

Engage with and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, celebrating their lessons, creativity, and imagination with storytelling, impactful conversation, soundscapes and art-marking!

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, the Gardner Museum opens its doors on this free day so that all may engage with the legacy of these and other civil rights leaders—and revel in the final opportunity to view our exhibition Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory, a vibrant retrospective of a Black Boston artist who dedicated himself to glorifying his multicultural community.

Artists and thought-leaders will share reflections on social justice, equity, and empowerment, and we invite visitors to partake in storytelling, conversation, and art-making.

2026 Program Schedule

Collaborative Art-Making
11 am – 4 pm, Bertucci Education Studio
Honor everyday divinity as Allan Rohan Crite did by making a personal altarpiece in this hands-on art-making activity inspired by the artist and designed by two of his mentees and Gardner Neighborhood Salon Luminaries, Johnetta Tinker and Susan Thompson.

From Earth to Heaven: A Community Sing-Along to Celebrate the Art & Liturgy of Allan Rohan Crite
1 pm & 2 pm, Courtyard

Raise your voice and join us in song as Boston City Singers Youth Choir fills the Courtyard with the melodies of hymns beloved by Allan Rohan Crite as we celebrate his life and legacy.

PROGRAM
South African set
Emlanjeni
Jikeleza
Shosholoza

Spirituals
Woke up this Morning
God’s Gonna Set this World on Fire

Allan Rohan Crite set
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Joshua fit the Battle
Deep River

Honoring Rest as a Birthright
11 am – 2 pm, 2 – 4 pm, Calderwood Hall
Martin Luther King Jr. Day often centers action, service, and labor in honor of Dr. King’s legacy. Activists and visionaries are often expected to sacrifice rest, joy, and even their humanity for “the work;” to be an activist is to push endlessly, to serve without pause, and to carry movements forward at the expense of personal care. In this program, we challenge that idea. We remember that activists and leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. were human beings who also needed moments of softness, joy, and restoration.

Join us in Calderwood Hall to rest, reflect, and engage in mindful, meditation led by Marlene Boyette as we reframe MLK Day not only as a space to honor work and sacrifice, but to reclaim rest as an inherent right that sustains activism, community, and life itself.

Guided mindful meditations will take place in Calderwood at these times:
11:20 am
12:00 pm
02:20 pm
3:00 pm

By offering a shared space of music, refuge, and meditation, we hope to encourage visitors to enjoy Martin Luther King, Jr. day not only as a time in which to strive for justice, but to reclaim rest as an inherent right that sustains activism, community, and life itself.

WEBSITE

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www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/dr-martin-luther_king-day-1.19.26

LOCATION

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25 Evans Way, Boston, MA, 02115 map
Phone: (617) 278-5156

TIPS

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Advance tickets encouraged