This lecture explores whether it is possible to achieve both social justice and environmental sustainability in efforts to mitigate urban flood risk. The expanding scale of urban flooding under climate change has renewed interest in large-scale restoration projects that make room for water in metro centers. However, ecologically functioning green infrastructure – unleashed rivers, sprawling wetlands – is inconsistent with the current governance landscape of fragmented local governments seeking to maximize local land values and minimize affordable housing. Moreover, even...
Ponds are one of many beautiful features of the Arnold Arboretum’s ecosystem and landscape. The Bradley Rosaceous Collection garden is the setting for three eco-rich ponds—Dawson, Faxon, and Rehder—named for former Arboretum staff. Photographer Bruce Wilson brings his now practiced eye to the discovery of shadows, reflections, visitor interaction, and flora in those ponds, as well as in an urban pond in Newton. His pond images complement the trees, emphasize the subtle or saturated colors of water, and capture interactions between visitors and the scenes of rich pondlife.
Nancy Sableski, Arnold Arboretum Manager of Children’s Education, is also an artist who has been painting in the Arboretum since 1988, finding inspiration throughout the landscape. Join us for a virtual viewing of her work followed by a short discussion via the meeting app, Zoom.
Nancy Sableski, Arnold Arboretum Manager of Children’s Education, is also an artist who has been painting in the Arboretum since 1988, finding inspiration throughout the landscape. Join us for a virtual viewing of her work followed by a short discussion via the meeting app, Zoom.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arnold Arboretum for an opening reception for their newest exhibition, The Path Taken: Photography by Lawrence Mullings.
On any given day, Lawrence Mullings can be found exploring the paths and hidden corners of the Arboretum. While walking in the landscape to regain his health, his joy in photography was rekindled. He saw how the Arboretum was many different things to him, and to the many different people who come here from around the neighborhood and around the world. To Mullings, the Arboretum is its trees, as well as the myriad ways visitors enjoy them...
On any given day, Lawrence Mullings can be found exploring the paths and hidden corners of the Arboretum. While walking in the landscape to regain his health, his joy in photography was rekindled. He saw how the Arboretum was many different things to him, and to the many different people who come here from around the neighborhood and around the world. To Mullings, the Arboretum is its trees, as well as the myriad ways visitors enjoy them and this landscape.
Now revived in spirit and in creativity, Mullings brings to his exhibition the inspirational scenes he has captured along...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Chris Morgan is fascinated by the patterns and textures in nature, the shapes of trees, and the movements of birds. He captures these beautifully in his photographs, which were on display at the Arnold Arboretum in the winter of 2019.
In this program, Chris will discuss his photographic interests and methods in the classroom and then move outdoors to demonstrate his techniques. Class participants will be able to learn alongside Chris, evaluating views, debating camera angles, and considering focal points in order to shoot better images. Participants should bring their...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Opening Reception with the Artist: Saturday, October 26, 1:00pm–3:00pm
Betsey Henkels uses the camera to explore the world in two ways—first by noticing and appreciating objects that she might otherwise overlook, and second, by transforming ordinary scenes into prints that are compelling and unexpected. Henkels spent many hours in the Arboretum, photographing tree canopies, bark, and above ground roots in infrared. Infrared is magical and mysterious. The photographer shoots images without knowing exactly what will show up in the print. Looking through the viewfinder of an...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arboretum's exhibiting artist, Steffanie Schwam, in this hands-on workshop. You will make your own unique monoprint on paper or fabric, using leaves from the Arboretum's collections, paint, printmaking tools, recycled materials, and the inspiration of the surrounding landscape.
Note: This workshop is appropriate for ages 8 and up. An adult must accompany anyone between ages 8–12.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Sarah Cross, the Arnold Arboretum's exhibiting artist of Between the Leaves, will hold a cyanotype printing workshop for families. Join Sarah to make beautiful blue prints of leaves and blooms found at the Arboretum, while you learn about this alternative printing technique. After making your own unique cyanotype photogram, you will be able to take it home. All materials will be provided.
Please note: This free drop-in activity is appropriate for ages 7 and up.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join Paul Olson, the Arnold Arboretum's exhibiting artist of Drawn to Paint, for a sketching workshop "en plein air" (outside, in the landscape). Olson, an instructor at Mass College of Art and RISD, will focus on teaching you to sketch trees from direct observation outdoors. He will encourage you to think about simplifying your design with just the essential shapes to make a good composition in light pencil. Then, you can use ink and water for an expressive tonal image. Bring pencils and sketchbooks; some supplies will be available.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
All writers must contend with translation. A poet translates the movement of a dancing figure into a brief couplet, and an essayist translates the noise and commotion of the city where she lives into a single paragraph. The three-dimensional world filters into text, and when done especially well—the realm of literature and art—readers often forget that translation has even occurred.
In this talk, Jonathan Damery, the associate editor for Arnoldia, will provide a readerly tour through horticultural and botanical reference books, encouraging readers to see the artistic endeavor...
Hunnewell Building and Arboretum Landscape, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join us for an enchanting evening of Tree Myths, Songs and Summer Solstice Legends. Attendees will hear tales of the human connection with trees and the deep meaning we have assigned to them through the ages. This unique performance, designed specifically for the Arnold Arboretum, travels through the Arboretum with story and music. Each story is told under a different tree or among a unique collection of Arboretum plants, culminating with the haunting Czech legend “The Wild Woman of the Birch Grove” told amid the birches at sunset. Appropriate for adults and for children twelve years and...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Artist, Paul Olson, has been discovering the nuances of the Arnold Arboretum’s collections since he first passed through its gates in 2011. A landscape painter for decades, Olson explores the grounds with sketchbook in hand, typically in the early morning hours. His goal is to be unencumbered by any agenda and open to what the light of the day presents. In 2012, he had an exhibition at the Arboretum titled “Drawn to Woods.” The expressive ink drawings in that show were all completed en plein air—on-site in the open air.
In this new exhibition, Olson brings his on-site...
Have you ever dissected a flower? Do you know what a corona and a corolla are? Join botanical artists, Angell and Duncan as they lead you in creating pencil sketches of several varieties of daffodils. You will slice the flowers open to examine and draw their reproductive anatomy. The instructors will explain distinguishing features of the beautiful spring flowers and teach basic terminology to add to your understanding of the diverse botanical world.
Some pencils will be available, but bring your own if you have them. We will provide everything else, including microscopes....
Richard Evans Schultes—ethnobotanist, taxonomist, writer, photographer, and Harvard professor—is regarded as one of the most important plant explorers of the twentieth century. In 1941, Schultes traveled to the Amazon rainforest on a mission to study how Indigenous peoples used plants for medicinal, ritual, and practical purposes. A new interactive online map, produced by the Amazon Conservation Team, traces the landscapes and cultures that Schultes explored in the Colombian Amazon. Plotkin and Hettler will share this map and discuss the relevance of Schultes’ travels and...
Chris Morgan's goal as a photographer is to evoke the emotions he feels when he views patterns and textures in nature, in the shapes of trees, and in the movements of birds. He brings details to life. The Arboretum, with its rich collections of flora and fauna, has been a major interest of his for over fifteen years, especially during blizzards, when dramatic photo opportunities appear. Digital photography, which offers a happy marriage of the arts and the sciences, lets him explore larger-format photography in creative ways through digital panorama techniques.
Chris Morgan's goal as a photographer is to evoke the emotions he feels when he views patterns and textures in nature, in the shapes of trees, and in the movements of birds. He brings details to life. The Arboretum, with its rich collections of flora and fauna, has been a major interest of his for over fifteen years, especially during blizzards, when dramatic photo opportunities appear. Digital photography, which offers a happy marriage of the arts and the sciences, lets him explore larger-format photography...
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Capture the essence of winter, when landscapes present a diluted palette of colors and contrasts are most striking. Professional photographer Nancy Katz will introduce fundamental concepts of landscape photography and then teach techniques for getting the best photographs from your smartphone camera. You will capture images in color and black and white, then learn to enhance them using a host of editing tools provided in the Snapseed App. (Note: Nancy Katz was...
Create a piece of Arnold Arboretum history…enter our contest to design the 2019 Lilac Sunday t-shirt!
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University invites artists of all ages to submit their designs for Lilac Sunday 2019. Lilac-themed t-shirts have been a tradition at Lilac Sunday for many years, and continue to be a highly anticipated and popular memento of this event.