By Dan Murphy
‘JOYWALK: A Fenway Cultural District Art Crawl’ returns Thursday, May 7, from 4 to 8 p.m., again offering guests a unique opportunity to visit a selection of the neighborhood’s diverse art galleries free of charge, including a couple of spots rarely open to the public.
“The ethos of the event is to highlight Fenway’s art community,” said Genevieve Day, co-executive director of Fenway Alliance, which, together with Mass Cultural Council and City of Boston’s Planning Department, is sponsoring JOYWALK. “We have some wonderful art galleries in the neighborhood. The MFA and the Gardner Museum are the two anchors, but we want to shine a light on some of the smaller galleries as well.”
For this year’s event, the public will receive free admission to Fenway Studios; The Fenway Gallery at Fenway Studios; Massachusetts Historic Society; The First Church of Christ, Scientist; Berklee Art Windows; New Edgerly Plaza Art Market; Kaji Aso Studio; Huntington Avenue YMCA; MFA, Boston; MassArt Art Museum (MAAM); the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; and Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons University.
The inaugural JOYWALK, which took place on the first Thursday in May in 2024, was a great success, with strong participation and a sizeable turnout, said Day, but the event didn’t return last year for a variety of reasons.
Like the inaugural event, this year’s JOYWALK again takes place on the first Thursday of May because many of the neighborhood’s museums, including the Museum Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) and MAAM, are traditionally open late on the first Thursday of each month. Admission to the Gardner Museum is free on the first Thursday of each month as well.
While the MFA will still be charging its usual admittance fee on the day of the event, 25 free tickets to the museum will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis at the JOYWALK information booth at New Edgerly Plaza.
This year’s JOYWALK also offers a unique opportunity to visit Kaji Aso Studio and Fenway Studios, both of which are rarely open to the public.
“This is actually one of the coolest things to see these studios – the first purpose built artist live/work studios based on Parisian Ateliers in the country,” said Day of Fenway Studios. “The studios are quite spectacular, each two stories high with an intricate double staircase situation in the back to maximize north-facing light.”
As part of this year’s JOYWALK, Ed Ballo, a Fenway resident, historian, and ‘urban sleuth’ is also leading two public art walking tours of the Fenway. (Online registration via the JOYWALK webpage below is required for these tours.)
For this year’s event, Fenway Alliance will also be collaborating with two other local organizations (Junkyard + Carcas, respectively) to offer an Art Market, including handmade goods, including trinkets, ceramics, prints, paintings, and jewelry, among other items, along with free live music.
And in collaboration with the Berklee Art Windows on MassAve, the art windows at 171 Massachusetts Ave. will be activated with the installation of works created by students from the nearby Windsor School, an all-girls private day school for Grades 5-12.
In anticipation of JOYWALK, Day said she hopes this year’s event will ultimately serve to introduce the Fenway’s rich art offerings to an even wider audience.
“We want to welcome people into the Fenway to explore hidden gems and the iconic ‘anchors,’” said day. “We’re excited to see people explore the galleries and see some they might not see on a regular basis.”
Visit www.fenwayculture.org/joywalk for more information.