Artists David Riley and Cathleen O’Connell. Courtesy East Boston Artists Group. Photo by Al Terminello.
The East Boston Artists Group presents Harboring Creativity at the ICA Watershed. Featuring the work of 45 local emerging and established artists who live, work, or create in East Boston, this presentation is a wonderful reflection of the creativity and innovation of East Boston and its surrounding neighborhoods.
Photo by Luis Pacheco
Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC) presents “2024 Dia de Muertos,” New England’s largest multi-day “Day of the Dead Celebration,” offering a series of events to honor our ancestors and deceased loved ones. On Sunday, November 3, celebrate the last day of programs with us in two locations in East Boston: The day will begin at the ICA Watershed with a presentation of altars created by local artists and community members and will include a Catrina’s Parade to Central Square Park in East Boston. The Day of the Dead festival at Central Square Park will feature live performances, artisans, local food vendors, and ongoing shuttle bus trips to the ICA Watershed to view the altars. This year VROCC marks its 12th year bringing this rich tradition for everyone to enjoy.
Schedule
Check out VROCC’s full series of “Day of the Dead” events
Note: ICA Water Shuttles will not be running.
Installation view, Hew Locke: The Procession, Tate Britain Commission 2022, Tate Britain, Duveen Galleries, London, 2022. Photo by Joe Humphrys. © Hew Locke. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2022 © Tate.
For Director’s Circle members +
Join fellow Director’s Circle members for a private, after-hours tour of Hew Locke: The Procession and gallery conversation with Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs.
Please contact dcevents@icaboston.org to RSVP.
Not a Director’s Circle member? Upgrade your membership or become a member at the Director’s Circle by emailing membership@icaboston.org.
Photo by Lauren Miller
Join us at the ICA Watershed for a day of family fun featuring activities in connection with the themes of Hew Locke: The Procession. Create instruments from recycled materials that help bring your own procession to life through sound and movement. Learn more about music and instruments around the world with books and activities from the Boston Public Library. For the final Watershed Play Date of the year, we groove and grow together!
Reserve free admission tickets online in advance*. All activities are drop-in, first come first served, space is limited. Tickets will be available for members beginning on July 10 and for the general public on July 17.
*On Saturday, August 31st, museum admission is FREE for families when accompanied by kids ages 12 and under, with up to 2 adults per family. Timed tickets must be reserved online in advance for Watershed shuttle boats. Use the code PLAYDATE when reserving your ticket(s). Advance tickets are strongly recommended; day-of tickets are not guaranteed. For access to the ICA Watershed from Seaport, visitors should select the General Admission + Water Shuttle ticket. Admission to the Watershed is always free.
The Watershed is located within the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston at 256 Marginal Street. Accessible parking is available at the Watershed. Limited street parking is available nearby. Visitors can also reach the Watershed by public transportation – the building is 0.5 miles from Maverick Station on the Blue Line.
Harbor Room, Watershed
Create different percussive instruments using recycled materials, inspired by the instruments and styles found in The Procession. Experiment with the sounds that each material combination can make, add flourish and decoration, then proudly play your creation in your own procession!
Explore the motifs and symbols of The Procession through a guided looking activity. Work together to find various repeated patterns and objects across the 140 different sculptures! Available in both English and Spanish.
4th Floor Galleries, Seaport
For those visiting the ICA at the Seaport, enjoy staff-led readings of family-friendly books in the galleries! Afterwards, pick up a Summer Family Gallery Guide and explore the exhibitions on view.
Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership: a free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.
Questions? Reach out to us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.
+1 Membership is generously supported by Vertex.
Hew Locke: The Procession was originally commissioned by Tate Britain for its 2022 Tate Britain Commission. The ICA Watershed presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Anni A. Pullagura, Consulting Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Tate.
Support for Hew Locke: The Procession is provided by David Feinberg and Marina Kalb, and an anonymous donor.
ICA Watershed programs are supported by Eastern Bank.
Photo by Mel Taing
Join us at the ICA Watershed for a day of family fun exploring Hew Locke: The Procession. Consider what it means to be in a procession: What do processions celebrate, commemorate, or challenge? What do you bring, wear, or do during one? Who would you invite to join you? Make a dazzling flag to carry and fly, read stories of journeys and celebrations, and explore the incredible characters and details of The Procession! Reserve free admission tickets online in advance*. All activities are drop-in, first come first served, space is limited.
*On Saturday, June 29, museum admission is FREE for families when accompanied by kids ages 12 and under, with up to 2 adults per family. Timed tickets must be reserved online in advance for Watershed shuttle boats. Use the code PLAYDATE when reserving your ticket(s). Advance tickets are strongly recommended; day-of tickets are not guaranteed. For access to the ICA Watershed from Seaport, visitors should select the General Admission + Water Shuttle ticket.
The Watershed is located within the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston at 256 Marginal Street. Accessible parking is available at the Watershed. Limited street parking is available nearby. Visitors can also reach the Watershed by public transportation – the building is 0.5 miles from Maverick Station on the Blue Line.
Harbor Room, Watershed
Create a flag that represents you! People often use flags to tell something about their identities, interests, or communities. Using decorative paper, punches, trim, and stencils, tell a story about yourself through your own flag. You can also find inspiration from Hew Locke’s exhibition and discover the meaning behind the many flags in The Procession.
Harbor Room, Watershed
Discover new books, characters, and learn more about the Boston Public Library’s free resources! Families will be able to meet BPL staff from the East Boston branch, sign up for library cards, and read specially selected books based on the stories and themes of The Procession.
4th Floor Galleries, Seaport
For those visiting the ICA at the Seaport, enjoy staff-led readings of family-friendly books in the galleries! Afterwards, pick up a Summer Family Gallery Guide, and explore the exhibitions on view.
Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership: a free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.
Questions? Reach out to us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.
+1 Membership is generously supported by Vertex.
Photo by Lauren Miller
Please note: Play Date in June, July, and August will take place at the ICA Watershed, located in East Boston! Water Shuttle tickets are sold out, but you can still visit the museum with your family for free!
Join us at the ICA Watershed for a day of family fun featuring activities in connection with Hew Locke: The Procession. Enjoy a live musical performance, learn about Caribbean Carnival’s history and significance, and create wearable art inspired by the costumes of Carnival. Get ready to parade and party!
*On Saturday, July 27th, museum admission is FREE for families when accompanied by kids ages 12 and under, with up to 2 adults per family. Timed tickets must be reserved online in advance for Watershed shuttle boats. Use the code PLAYDATE when reserving your ticket(s). Advance tickets are strongly recommended; day-of tickets are not guaranteed. For access to the ICA Watershed from Seaport, visitors should select the General Admission + Water Shuttle ticket. Admission to the Watershed is always free.
The Watershed is located within the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston at 256 Marginal Street. Accessible parking is available at the Watershed. Limited street parking is available nearby. Visitors can also reach the Watershed by public transportation – the building is 0.5 miles from Maverick Station on the Blue Line.
Harbor Room
Families can learn about the history and traditions of “Playing Mas” (participating in Carnival) and create wearable costumes inspired by Mas (short for Masquerade) with BSOCCAH! After learning and making, visitors can explore how symbols and characters of Carnival are reflected in Hew Locke’s sculptures all around the Watershed. Artmaking is drop-in on a first come first served basis.
15 minute sessions
Harbor Room
Ideas, Not Theories- Bicycle Beats is a short musical performance of a solo percussion piece written for bicycle, which incorporates theatrical elements in the form of physical theater. Composed and performed by Reynaliz Herrera, the mini performance features different sections of music, each exploring the different sonorities of the musical bike (frame, wheel, chainwheel, spokes, etc) and each of them inspired by world rhythms such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian, and some composition techniques such as polyrhythms. The piece is a through-composed work, intertwined with some physical theater elements.
Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership: a free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.
Founded and directed by Reynaliz Herrera, IDEAS, NOT THEORIES is a theatrical percussion company for unconventional percussion instruments that offers several programs featuring Reynaliz Herrera’s original music and compositions for bicycles and other unconventional instruments.
The Boston Society of Caribbean Culture and Heritage (BSOCCAH) is a collective body composed of community stakeholders working to expand the representation and celebration of Caribbean culture in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the curation of thoughtful and engaging public events and activities.
Questions? Reach out to us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.
+1 Membership is generously supported by Vertex.
Hew Locke: The Procession was originally commissioned by Tate Britain for its 2022 Tate Britain Commission. The ICA Watershed presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Anni A. Pullagura, Consulting Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Tate.
Support for Hew Locke: The Procession is provided by David Feinberg and Marina Kalb, and an anonymous donor.
ICA Watershed programs are supported by Eastern Bank.
Delve into the living culture of the Taíno Peoples—including traditional regalia, language, and dance— with members of the Higuayagua Taíno community of the Caribbean. Explore the rich history of the Taíno, which has been present since time immemorial and continues to resonate in the Caribbean and beyond. This interactive session is presented in collaboration with the Community Healing Center and is open to both English and Spanish speakers.
This event has been organized to accompany the ICA Watershed exhibition—Hew Locke: The Procession. Poetic and powerful, the installation draws on the metaphor of the voyage to, in the artist’s words, “reflect on the cycles of history, and the ebb and flow of cultures, people, finance, and power.”
Find directions on how to get to the Watershed here.
Hew Locke: The Procession was originally commissioned by Tate Britain for its 2022 Tate Britain Commission. The ICA Watershed presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Anni A. Pullagura, Consulting Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Tate.
Support for Hew Locke: The Procession is provided by David Feinberg and Marina Kalb, and an anonymous donor.
ICA Watershed programs are supported by Eastern Bank.
Photo by Mel Taing
Join Anni Pullagura, Yale Center for British Art Postdoctoral Fellow and ICA Consulting Assistant Curator for a deep dive into Hew Locke: The Procession at the ICA Watershed. In this drop-in program, Pullagura will explore the artist’s inspiration, motifs, and unique symbolic material choices. Learn more about Hew Locke and The Procession, which explores why people gather and move together.
Find directions on how to get to the Watershed
Hew Locke: The Procession was originally commissioned by Tate Britain for its 2022 Tate Britain Commission. The ICA Watershed presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Anni A. Pullagura, Consulting Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Tate.
Support for Hew Locke: The Procession is provided by David Feinberg and Marina Kalb, and an anonymous donor.
ICA Watershed programs are supported by Eastern Bank.
Photo by Jaime Mongui
Photo by Jaime Mongui
Learn about Caporales, a traditional high-energy Andean dance. This interactive workshop at the Watershed will be led by the Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC), an East Boston arts organization that seeks to foster, share, and celebrate Latino cultures. Performers from East Boston and Caporales San Simon New England will join Robles to share the history, cultural influences, and traditions of Caporales followed by a demonstration of this folkloric dance. As described by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Caporales, “acknowledges the African slave experience of Bolivia, and honors Afro-Bolivian identity and cultural expressions.”
This workshop has been organized to accompany the ICA Watershed exhibition—Hew Locke: The Procession. Poetic and powerful, the installation draws on the metaphor of the voyage to, in the artist’s words, “reflect on the cycles of history, and the ebb and flow of cultures, people, finance, and power.”
Tickets are not required for the dance workshop.
Find directions on how to get to the Watershed here.
Hew Locke: The Procession was originally commissioned by Tate Britain for its 2022 Tate Britain Commission. The ICA Watershed presentation is organized by Ruth Erickson, Barbara Lee Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Anni A. Pullagura, Consulting Assistant Curator, in collaboration with Tate.
Support for Hew Locke: The Procession is provided by David Feinberg and Marina Kalb, and an anonymous donor.
ICA Watershed programs are supported by Eastern Bank.
ICA Watershed
256 Marginal Street
Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina
East Boston Chamber of Commerce and Veronica Robles Cultural Center are hosting the third annual East Boston Holiday Bazaar at the ICA Watershed! Shop local makers, artisans, and fooderies, and enjoy family-friendly music and dance performances.
Please note, there is no public parking at the ICA Watershed and street parking is limited. The Watershed is .5 miles from the MBTA Blue Line/Maverick Station stop. VROCC will provide a free shuttle service to the ICA Watershed from Maverick Square.