BOSTON, MA - January 16, 2025 – The Boston Public Library (BPL) today announced Revolutionary Art: Art and Social Change, a year-long celebration of how art has shaped and inspired social change in the United States. This marks the second installment of Road to Revolution, a three-year thematic series leading up to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
Through an exciting mix of programs, exhibitions, and highlights from BPL’s collections, Revolutionary Art explores how art sparks transformation, celebrates creativity, and influences the future. From visual arts and performances to discussions and displays, this series honors art’s power to drive social progress.
Throughout 2025, the BPL will feature booklists, host special events across branches, and highlight notable items in the BPL collections. The full list of programs, updated throughout the year, can be found at bpl.org/events. Upcoming highlights include:
Exhibitions and Collections
- This fall, a Revolutionary Art exhibition will trace Boston’s revolutionary legacy and its influence on art and activism.
- Monthly Special Collections open houses will feature revolutionary techniques and themes from BPL’s holdings.
- An exhibition by artist Karen Moss, We Read Banned Books!, will be on display in Gallery J at the Central Library through March 26, featuring portraits of individuals reading banned books, highlighting the ongoing threats to the freedom to read and the importance of access to literature.
- Digitized works by Boston Black artists, including Alan Rohan Crite and John Burnett, will be made accessible through the Digital Commonwealth platform, highlighting their contributions to revolutionary art and social change.
Lowell Lecture Series
- The BPL’s signature Lowell Lectures will offer experiential and dynamic programs, showcasing a diverse range of revolutionary perspectives.
- Highlights will include a thought-provoking talk from Dread Scott, an acclaimed artist whose work addresses themes of oppression, resistance, and liberation, as well as insights from renowned cultural organizers, a discussion with an Academy Award-winning costume designer, and a vibrant celebration of the art of drag.
Art for Social Change Across Boston
- The 50th annual Dwiggins Lecture will feature Stephen Coles from the Letterform Archive, focusing on W.A. Dwiggins’ influence on the art of modern typography.
- Workshops will include printmaking sessions with Artist-in-Residence Kevorak Mourad and photography workshops with area artists.
- Local artists will share their creative processes during Artist Talks at neighborhood branches.
- Community Art Walks will invite participants to explore Boston’s vibrant public art scene.
- Writers Without Margins will host workshops at four branches, focusing on the role of art in driving social change.
Revolutionizing Food with the Nutrition Lab
- The Nutrition Lab at the Roxbury Branch will be drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell’s iconic Woodstock refrain, “We are stardust/We are golden/And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
- Programming will explore how visual artists, culinary innovators, and social movements have reshaped our understanding of food systems, nourishment, and community well-being.
Empowering Creative Careers
- The Business of Art: The Art of Business will be a speaker series presented by the Kirstein Business Library & Innovation Center (KBLIC) to empower creatives in the arts and trades with practical insights and inspiration.
- Designed for aspiring artists, established creators, and anyone navigating the creative economy, the series will feature experts sharing strategies for skill development, financial planning, business building, and leveraging technology to build sustainable careers in the arts.
Theatrical Winter with Company One Theatre
- From January 24 to February 15, audiences will experience Haunted, a pay-what-you-want theatrical production by Company One Theatre.
- This groundbreaking play, the first by an Indigenous playwright to be presented by Company One, features Indigenous actors, crew, and community partners while addressing the Land Back movement and themes of cultural reclamation and resilience.
- Evening performances will run Thursday to Saturday, with Sunday matinees at the Central Library.
Terrains of Independence at the Map Center
- Opening April 9, the Leventhal Map & Education Center's upcoming exhibition will offer the entry point to a reconsideration of Boston's role in the Revolutionary War through the lens of locality and place.
- By emphasizing how physical landscapes and spatial dynamics influenced the trajectory of revolutionary activity, the exhibit calls us to rethink the familiar story of Boston as a “cradle of liberty.”
- Features include public programs, family activities, and workshops hosted by the Map Center.
Revolutionary Rhythms
- Interpretations of Music: Lessons for Life will feature spring sessions with Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Opera Nights with the Boston Lyric Opera will include performances and lectures inspired by revolutionary themes.
- The Reclaiming Folk series, created by Naomi Westwater, will celebrate BIPOC artists in folk music and spoken word, showcasing storytelling and music as voices for change.
- An inclusive country/western dance at the Charlestown Branch will celebrate over 30 years of Gays for Patsy’s community work in Boston.
- A collaborative program with the Boston Festival Orchestra and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) will feature music by living women composers and poetry by Emily Dickinson and former Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla, who will share original works and read Dickinson's poetry.
Concerts in the Courtyard
- The beloved Concerts in the Courtyard series will return from June through August.
- Enjoy live music in the historic McKim Courtyard every Friday at 12:30 pm and Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm. (Inclement weather location: Rabb Lecture Hall.)
- This annual tradition promises a diverse lineup of artists and genres, celebrating the revolutionary spirit of music.
Revolutionary Art follows Revolutionary Music (2024) and precedes Revolutionary Boston (2026) in the Road to Revolution series. The Boston Public Library invites everyone to participate in these dynamic programs celebrating the power of Revolutionary Art. To explore upcoming events and updates, visit bpl.org/events.
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ABOUT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is a pioneer of public library service in America. It was the first large, free municipal library in the United States; the first public library to lend books; the first to have a branch library; and the first to have a children’s room.
The Boston Public Library of today is a robust system that includes the Central Library in Copley Square, 25 neighborhood branches, the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center, the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center, and an archival center, offering public access to world-class special collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and prints, along with rich digital content and online services.
The Boston Public Library serves nearly 4 million visitors per year and millions more online. All of its programs and exhibitions are free to all and open to the public. The Boston Public Library is a department of the City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu. To learn more, visit bpl.org.
