It’s a gift from the gods! Celebrate the opening of the MFA’s new galleries of ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine art with free general admission and programs on Saturday, December 18.
The new galleries of art of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine empire feature some of the oldest works in the MFA’s collection telling new stories and reflecting our time through the art of the past. With freshly imagined spaces that include natural light, innovative displays, interactive experiences, and immersive evocations of an ancient Greek temple and a Byzantine church, visitors of all ages can learn about the legacies of these ancient cultures and understand their relevance today.
Throughout the day, pick up free art-making kits inspired by sculpture on view and listen to gallery talks by curators, conservators, and others involved in bringing these new spaces to life.
Tickets to see the special exhibition “Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories” on December 18 are available now—buy yours today.
Feeling for Form
10:30 am–4 pm
Gallery 207 and Gallery 213
Explore Greek art through touch! Thanks to Formlabs, Thornton Tomasetti, MFA Conservation, and the MFA Access Program, 3D models of a bust of Demeter or Persephone and a piece of the Assos relief are available to touch. Learn more about these objects, how the 3D models came to be, and how the Museum uses these and other objects to make the galleries accessible to visitors with disabilities.
Gallery Talks
Time | Topic | Gallery | Speaker |
---|---|---|---|
10:30 am | Living with Greek and Roman Gods | 207 | Laure Marest, Cornelius and Emily Vermeule Assistant Curator, Greek and Roman Art |
10:30 am | Byzantine Period Bone and Ivory | 208 | Marie Stewart, assistant conservator |
10:45 am | Horsing Around: Horses in Archaic Greece | 213 | Monica Bulger |
10:45 am | Visible at Last: Coptic Art | 208 | Lawrence Berman, Norma Jean Calderwood Senior Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art |
11 am | Byzantine Period Bone and Ivory | 208 | Marie Stewart, assistant conservator |
11 am | Meeting the People of Ancient Rome | 206 | Laure Marest, Cornelius and Emily Vermeule Assistant Curator, Greek and Roman Art |
11 am | Objects on the Move in the Ancient Mediterranean | 213 | Caitlin Clerkin |
11:15 am | Juno | 207 | Christine Kondoleon, George D. and Margot Behrakis Chair, Art of Ancient Greece and Rome |
11:30 am | Horsing Around: Horses in Archaic Greece | 213 | Monica Bulger |
11:30 am | The Monopoli Altarpiece | 208 | Emmanuel Tiliakos |
11:30 am | Using Science to Conserve Ancient Silver | 207 | Emilie Tréhu, assistant conservator |
11:45 am | Athena in Colors | 207 | Laure Marest, Cornelius and Emily Vermeule Assistant Curator, Greek and Roman Art |
11:45 am | Byzantine Period Bone and Ivory | 208 | Marie Stewart, assistant conservator |
11:45 am | Objects on the Move in the Ancient Mediterranean | 213 | Caitlin Clerkin |
1 pm | Byzantine Art | 208 | Christine Kondoleon, George D. and Margot Behrakis Chair, Art of Ancient Greece and Rome |
1 pm | Conserving the Klazomenian Sarcophagus | 213 | LeeAnn Gordon, associate conservator |
1 pm | Using Science to Conserve Ancient Silver | 207 | Emilie Tréhu, assistant conservator |
1:15 pm | Early Greek Art | 213 | Phoebe Segal, Mary Bryce Comstock Curator of Greek and Roman Art |
1:15 pm | The Monopoli Altarpiece | 208 | Emmanuel Tiliakos |
1:30 pm | Conserving the Klazomenian Sarcophagus | 213 | LeeAnn Gordon, associate conservator |
1:30 pm | Using Science to Conserve Ancient Silver | 207 | Emilie Tréhu, assistant conservator |
1:45 pm | The Emperor’s New Groove: Constantinian Portraiture | 208 | Bailey Benson |
2 pm | Let There Be Light! Illumination and Gallery Design | 213 | Keith Crippen, director of Design |
2 pm | The Monopoli Altarpiece | 208 | Emmanuel Tiliakos |
2:15 pm | Lion, Snake, Fire-Breathing Donkey: Archaic Greek Creatures | 213 | Liz Neill |
2:30 pm | Early Greek Art | 213 | Phoebe Segal, Mary Bryce Comstock Curator of Greek and Roman Art |
2:30 pm | The Emperor’s New Groove: Constantinian Portraiture | 208 | Bailey Benson |
2:45 pm | Let There Be Light! Illumination and Gallery Design | 207 | Keith Crippen, director of Design |
2:45 pm | Lion, Snake, Fire-Breathing Donkey: Archaic Greek Creatures | 213 | Liz Neill |