ArtYard presents thought-provoking art, fosters unconventional collaborations, and develops original new work through our exhibition, live performance, residency, and community programs.
Our programs center a democratic way of thinking about art, infusing elements of interaction and play that invite our community into the creative process and encourage them to engage with the work in both physical and emotional ways. We embrace all forms of art, and many of the projects we present are boundary-crossing works that defy easy classification. Our 21,000-square-foot arts center, situated on the site of a former hatchery and designed to honor the town’s industrial past, brings together multiple art forms under one roof to create a lively conversation between different modalities, sparking opportunities for people to have unexpected and illuminating experiences. We seek out inventive, original artists who create new forms, illuminate overlooked narratives, celebrate cultural traditions, and engage in unconventional collaborations.
ArtYard hosts three cycles of major exhibitions each year in our five primary galleries. Our exhibitions feature installation, sculpture, painting, ceramics, photography, video, and emergent technologies, as well as the curation of everyday objects and their stories. We occasionally present works created through extended fabrication residencies for artists working to reshape the boundaries of modern aesthetics. Our Courtyard Gallery showcases work by artists with developmental and intellectual disabilities, often alongside pieces by neurotypical artists, in collaboration with Studio Route 29. Our Very Small Galleries are three miniature installations hidden inside our walls, visible through miniature apertures or peepholes.
We also support the visual arts through our permanent installation, Monuments, featuring five monumental works by Ledelle Moe across four campus locations, and the pop-up exhibition Artist Ancestors by Silky Shoemaker, which brings iconic cultural figures back from the great beyond to inspire our community.
Performing arts are central to ArtYard’s mission to ignite curiosity, foster connection, and celebrate diverse creative expression. Each year, more than 20 weekends are dedicated to an adventurous slate of live events that transform our theater into a place of surprise and shared wonder. Audiences encounter everything from bold storytelling and raucous political circus to boundary-pushing dance and movement-based performance. Our stages also host an expansive range of musical experiences, including world music, opera, jazz, experimental sound, and more — reflecting ArtYard’s commitment to bringing eclectic, globally minded, and artistically daring work to our community.
ArtYard hosts regular art-making workshops, educational tours, creative talks, and movement classes, all designed to build community, foster creativity, and increase access to the arts for a wide range of people. Our signature Hatch and Aqualumina festivals, raucous and exuberant celebrations of creative incubation and community, integrate musical performances and communal artmaking, and are designed to ignite joy, belonging, and community pride, activating multiple spaces or even our entire campus. ArtYard also collaborates with cultural partners, schools, and social service nonprofits to take arts experiences out into the community and reach underserved populations.
Learn more about Aqualumina and Hatch, our biennial spring festivals, below.
