Twelfth-annual event offers free admission all day for Massachusetts residents

BOSTON (June 10, 2024)— On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and longstanding partner Citizens invite the community to enjoy a free open house honoring Juneteenth, the oldest nationally recognized commemoration of the ending of slavery in the U.S. Running from 10 am to 5 pm, the event offers free admission for Massachusetts residents, including access to Hallyu! The Korean Wave. Tickets will be available in person on a first-come, first-served basis. Drop-in activities include art making; gallery talks; an interactive activation by Wee the People; performances by OrigiNation. Boston City Singers and the Boston Latin School Step Squad; and story readings by Drag Story Hour.

“We are honored to host our 12th-annual Juneteenth open house at the MFA—an inspiring day for all Bostonians to come together to honor the contributions of Black artists today and across time,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director. “We’re grateful to Citizens for their longstanding partnership, and to the many artists and creative voices across the city who make the open house possible each year. Now, more than ever, we join together to affirm all belong at the MFA, and celebrate the many ways museums create conversations in our communities.”

“Citizens is thrilled to continue supporting the MFA’s Juneteenth event, which embodies culture, inclusion, and freedom of expression,” said Lisa Murray, president, Massachusetts, Citizens. “Our commitment to creating tangible impact within and beyond our walls positions us and the communities we serve for the best possible tomorrow.”

Juneteenth is one of four annual open houses at the MFA where admission is free to all Massachusetts residents: Juneteenth (June 19, 2024), Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 14, 2024), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 20, 2025), and Memorial Day (May 26, 2025). The MFA has hosted an event honoring Juneteenth since 2013.

Community Art Making with Citizens

Ahead of the Juneteenth Open House, MFA educators will distribute art-making kits at the Citizens branches on Center Street in Jamaica Plain, Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester, and Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan:

• Jamaica Plain: June 13, 11 am–2 pm (Citizens, 696 Centre St)
• Dorchester: June 15, 9 am–12 pm (Citizens, 1160 Blue Hill Avenue)
• Mattapan: June 17, 11 am–2 pm (Citizens, 1575 Blue Hill Avenue)

Exhibitions on View

The open house runs from 10 am to 5 pm, inviting visitors to explore more than a dozen exhibitions on view, including Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party and Four Womxn: New Musings on Blackness. On view through June 24, Comrade Sisters brings together 27 photographs by photojournalist Stephen Shames that record the everyday lives and critical work of the women who comprised more than 65 percent of the Black Panther Party’s membership. Inspired by Nina Simone’s 1966 song of archetypes and stereotypes bestowed upon Black women, the newly opened exhibition Four Womxn: New Musings on Blackness explores those ideations and connections that transcend geography, age, class, sexuality and artistry.

Visitors are also invited to explore works by Black artists from the Americas throughout the Museum using the recently launched “Black Arts and Artists" audio tour, available for free on the MFA Mobile on Bloomberg Connects app.

Events and Activities

Art Fair with Mission Hill Main Streets

10 am–3 pm, Shapiro Family Courtyard

Mission Hill Main Streets works with local businesses, residents and institutions in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood to revitalize local businesses and strengthen the community. Visitors can drop by to meet and enjoy the art of some of the local artists who partner with the organization, including Aminata Dakowa, LeShonda Zene, Michelle Zene and Zahirah Nur Truth.

Drop-In Art Making: Collage

10 am–4 pm (last entry 3:45 pm), Huntington Avenue Lawn (rain location Druker Family Pavilion)

Using patterned paper and mixed media, visitors can create their very own colorful collage.

Photo Booth

10 am–4 pm, Sharf Visitor Center

In conjunction with the exhibition Hallyu! The Korean Wave, visitors are invited to strike a pose in our photo booth, which will be free for visitors on Juneteenth.

Free Guided Tours

10:30 am, Noon, and 1:30 pm, Meet at Sharf Visitor Center

Knowledgeable guides lead free 60-minute guided tours to look closely at artwork across the MFA’s collections. Participants of all ages and experiences are welcome.

ASL Interpreter at noon tour

Drag Story Hour with Arabella Ladesse

11 am and Noon, Henry and Lois Foster Gallery (Gallery 158)

Arabella Ladesse, Portland, Maine, Princess, from the Boston chapter of Drag Story Hour leads a family story time.

ASL Interpreter at 11 am reading

Face Painting

11 am–3 pm, Huntington Avenue Lawn (rain location: Sharf Visitor Center)

On the Huntington Avenue Lawn, visitors of all ages can have some summertime happiness painted on their cheek.

Boston City Singers Presents ‘Freedom’

11:30 am and 1 pm, Shapiro Family Courtyard

Boston City Singers presents “Freedom,” a program of spirituals and folk songs celebrating Juneteenth. Founded in 1995 in Dorchester to provide outstanding opportunities—musical and beyond—for young people ages four through 18, Boston City Singers performs music from all ages and cultures while teaching many concepts and skills it takes to be a successful adult. Known for its family atmosphere, the program acknowledges and welcomes diversity of all kinds. The tour choir, which has toured globally for the past 16 years, is conducted by Jane Money, founding artistic director, and Kimani Lumsden, world rhythm ensemble director.

ASL Interpreter at 1 pm

Blackness Is Monumental

1-3pm, Riley Seminar Room

What are monuments for? What do they teach us about who matters? And how can we radically reimagine monuments to lift up and reclaim our stories? Visitors are invited to join Wee the People, a social justice project, for an art-filled, intergenerational workshop called “Blackness Is Monumental.” Attendees can collage their own monument to Blackness with recycled materials including boxes, tubes, gems, vintage photos, and wall-to-wall images of Black art, culture, history and experience.

At 1:30 and 2:30 pm, visitors can gather to hear a reading of The Artivist (2023), an award-winning picture book by Nikkolas Smith about how kids can combine art and activism in their daily lives.

Boston Latin School Step Squad

12:15 pm, Shapiro Family Courtyard

Visitors can catch a performance by the BLS Step Team, a coed group open to all grade levels that has been an integral part of the school since the 1980s. Originally named the BLS Pep Squad, the team creates intricate original routines every single year and performs them at other local schools and throughout the community.

OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center

1:30 and 2:30 pm, Shapiro Family Courtyard

Founded in 1994 by artistic director Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, OrigiNation produces innovative and dynamic performing arts programs that motivate, challenge, and inspire youth. Offering quality dance, theater arts and African history education, the organization emphasizes teaching young people from two through 18 the importance of self-respect, health, nutrition, education, self-esteem and the extent of African influences on various contemporary art forms.

About the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The MFA brings many worlds together through art. Showcasing masterpieces from ancient to contemporary, our renowned collection of nearly 500,000 works tells a multifaceted story of the human experience—a story that holds unique meaning for everyone. From Boston locals to international travelers, visitors from across the globe come to experience the MFA. Through both art and audience, the Museum brings together diverse perspectives—revealing connections, exploring differences, creating a community where all belong.

Open six days a week, the MFA’s hours are Saturday through Monday, 10 am–5 pm; Wednesday, 10 am–5 pm; and Thursday–Friday, 10 am–10 pm. Plan your visit at mfa.org.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $220.4 billion in assets as of March 31, 2024. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and more than 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn or Facebook.