I am going to age myself a little bit here. Around 15 years ago, a friend and I visited the MFA. I…read morevividly remember these creative chairs with placards stating "please be seated." We'd look at each other, laughing, saying "I am sitting on art!" Though a newly minted teenager, I had the wherewithal to know not to touch anything (unless expressly permitted). This is one of the things about the Pucker Gallery that I wish were more clear. Some of the art pieces were designed to be interacted with, like a unique working elevator-type piece. Paintings? haha yes - I know to keep a respectful distance here. Some other pieces, while I cannot remember the specifics, felt they could have been either. Further, on the same note, there were a couple sliding walls with art slightly tucked away; are we welcome to pull these out, or a no-touching zone? Despite the two paragraphs I just spent exposing my past and putting the gallery on blast, I thought this Gallery was awesome! For what seems like a smaller gallery, they had more works seemingly than several contemporary art museums I'd been to. There were a handful of exhibitions and numerous works within each one. The best part: entrance to the gallery is free! Especially where tickets to the, [in my opinion small and underwhelming] ICA and Mass MoCA are $20 and $25, respectively, this is beyond amazing! Thus, Pucker Gallery is in a league of its own. It is like a free mini-museum that I would happily visit again, either alone, with a friend, family, or even a date!

I visited Pucker Gallery for a private event on a Monday evening. I've definitely passed it by…read moredozens of times, but never actually noticed it. When you enter the building, you'll have to take the elevator upstairs to reach the actual gallery. I was impressed by the size of the place, especially given it's on Newbury Street. I'm honestly not a huge art person, but I really enjoyed walking around the gallery. There was a wide variety of art, so there's something for everyone. I especially appreciated how there was a lot of signage with information on the art, as well as some tv screens with educational videos. I'm not sure if this is the type of place you can often rent out for events, but if so, it's really a cool spot for that purpose. I hope to come back and visit Pucker Gallery again!

Stumbled across this lovely art and meeting space when I went to pay for parking at the Atlantic…read moreWharf Garage (the payment kiosk is located right outside the elevator in The Gallery). The Gallery at Atlantic Wharf features an array of art from local artists and is programmed by the Four Point Arts Community. 300 By Design, the latest exhibit at The Gallery at Atlantic Wharf explores movement, abstraction, and design. This collection of artwork is from five artists who live and work in the Artist Building and will be on display through October 5, 2024. There's an open meeting/working space just around the corner, which features a vast amount of comfortable seating and tables. The space was wonderful, calm, and clean. There are also public restrooms that were open during particular hours and a water bottle refill station back in the gallery area. This space was a great gem of a find in the downtown Boston area.

I'm gonna be honest, right up front... I expected this art exhibit to be a little... Boring. I am…read moreso happy to be wrong! They have some thing for everyone. The first floor is a mix of adult and children's pieces. The second floor has a huge dinosaur and art within the art... Visit and you'll know what I mean. Finally, the third floor has interactive art with Insta-worthy installations, and stations for kids of all ages to play with Legos, build their own race, cars, and race them against each other. THE DEAL: the art of the brick was worth every Lego that went into creating it. Fun for the whole family!

I TOTALLY had the same thought as Lynn J. I really thought that this "museum" would be boring and…read morenot really worth my time. However, I was wrong ... SO WRONG!!! I was fortunate enough to come here via a Yelp Elite event, and I am so glad I did!!! This place was such a pleasant surprise. At baseline, I love art and art museums. I had never heard of this "stuff" or the artist before ... nor am I fan of Legos. However, this place is awesome!!! I would highly encourage everyone of all ages to check this out. My favorite pieces were on Floor 2. First, the dinosaur. Duh!!! That thing was sa-weettttt!!! And second, the "paintings" with the Lego items in the art and present in real life. Seriouslyyyyy, so cool. I'm going to post a few pix but not all ... cuz you should really check it out for yourself!!!

One of the best art galleries in the USA. Highly recommend! Excellent staff to help with satisfying…read moreyour interests in collecting art that is exceptional.

This gallery shows a combination of paintings by living and deceased artists, as well as a few…read moresculptures and antiques. The style is definitely traditional overall, with a combination of Impressionist, Academic, and Boston School artists represented, to name a few genres. The gallery itself is in an old townhouse that is furnished to look like a home. Don't think they're closed -- you have to be buzzed in to enter. And yes, that's because the work is just THAT valuable. I've said this in other reviews, but I prefer going to galleries over museums when I want to see traditional artwork. The admission is free, and if you ask the staff politely you can probably learn about how the artist painted the work, etc. There are always free flyers you can bring home for your art notebook, too.

My husband and I visited ICA Boston last weekend, when we visited Boston for his birthday. We had a…read moregreat visit. We visited to see their current exhibit, "Derrick Adams: View Master," and the exhibit was great. It's the first mid-career survey of Adams's work, and it includes more than 100 artworks spanning 25 years of his career. Most of the works are never-before-exhibited works from Adams's personal collection. Making it even more special? Adams worked with the ICA to create an immersive exhibit - the way the art was displayed was unlike any other exhibit I've seen. I also enjoyed the other exhibit they had at the time, To My Best Friend, which draws from more than 50 artworks Fotene Demoulas and Tom Coté have brought into the ICA Collection. It included works by Lorna Simpson, Sarah Sze, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and Diedrick Brackens that I really loved. There were two smaller galleries that weren't open when we visited as they set up for two exhibitions, but there was still plenty to see at the ICA Boston when we visited. Both exhibits were great. The building is incredible - with beautiful views of Boston Harbor, a great wine + coffee bar, and an exceptional gift shop. We sat outside at the wine + coffee bar and had a couple of glasses of natural wine while looking out at the harbor. We spent a little too long in their gift shop, which has great books, art items, tchotchkes, and more. I picked up a Viewfinder made for the Derrick Adams exhibit and a hat, too. We didn't have time to take advantage of this, but there's one more thing that makes ICA Boston special: ICA Watershed, a seasonal space located in the East Boston Shipyard and Marina (this year it is open until 9/7/26). Their Watershed location is accessible by a timed water shuttle; visiting it and the shuttle is free with admission to the main ICA Boston location. We had a great experience at ICA Boston. I'd love to return on a future visit to Boston.

Went for a work event and the music was absolutely DEAFENING. Please turn the sound down! I could…read morenot hear the person sitting six inches away from me, so conversation was mostly smiling, nodding, and pretending we understood each other. We would have escaped immediately, but work obligations held us hostage. I would definitely not return due to the loud music. There's no reason to have it up that high. Thankfully, once we were inside the building, the music was less overpowering and there was some good art to look at. The art gets 4/5 stars, and the staff was very friendly, so 5 stars for them. As for the Seaport itself, it's mostly ugly, towering modern buildings, chain restaurants, and exorbitant parking prices, with plenty of suburbanites and tourists milling around. Not exactly overflowing with charm.

This is a cute concept, and since this is the reason I dropped by, I'll review this highlight…read moreinstead of the Dorchester Brewery. It is more like a collection of art around the brewery, but the signs are funny and it's interesting to note paintings that were donated vs. found in a thrift store vs. found in the garbage. It ranges from funny proportions to some truly bizarre. It's a great activity to giggle at with friends or make up fun commentary on a date. It's a fun little concept, free, and open late, so it's a funs stop in. The brewery features a full bar, arcade and board games and BBQ food as well. The owner even showed us an old cigarette dispensing machine now filled with chocolate packs. There's a lot going on and it is apparent a lot of thought and creativity went into the space. It's certainly not like a traditional "museum" but sometimes you need to see some bad art to really appreciate some good art elsewhere. You'll end up laughing at something.

Okay, so museum may not be the exact right word. This is kind of like a gallery in a brewery. I had…read moreseen an ad for this place on Instagram, and filed it away in my brain. I pulled it out of the file and went to see bad art. We walked in and the guy at the bar was very nice and pointed out the "route" of the paintings. The art was so fun--some worse than others. I really did understand what some of what the artists were thinking, and in other cases I just laughed and scratched my head It's small and we weren't there more than 20 minutes, but it was fun. Btw--it's free!!!

I really enjoyed visiting the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library…read more The staff were incredibly nice and the everything was extremely organized. Honestly the best $5.00 you'll spend in Boston.

As many people do, I only came for the Mapparium exhibit…read more For the Mapparium, tickets are quite decent at $6/adults. They have time slots running every 20min (thats the time allotted for each tour). When the time is up, the tour guide gathers the group and explains a little about the library/room before you actually enter the Mapparium. There are simple rules: (1) keep your belongings close to you [not responsible for lost/fallen items] & (2) no photos inside. The Mapparium itself is a pretty cool place. You see the map as if you are inside a globe. The cool feature about this room is that there is an echo (so one person at one end can hear the other person at the other end because the sound travels around). There is a narrow passageway that runs through the room. Inside, the tour guide explains a little about the room followed by a video which is portrayed on the surrounding "screens/map" around you. You will find yourself looking up/down & side to side to get a glimpse of everything. When you are standing in the room, there really isn't a bad view. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside (only via a selfie wall outside in the lobby). But nonetheless, it's a cool unique tour. They even offer free church tours, which is something else to consider.

I usually love everything the ICA does so I was excited to try the water shuttle to the watershed…read moreexhibit. The summer 2026 exhibit just did not do anything for me.

Visiting the ICA Watershed has become a summer tradition for me since 2021. The ICA itself has been…read moreone of my happy places ever since I moved to Boston, and the Watershed is such a cool extension of it. +Admission is free They usually host a block party or two over the summer, often with dancers and other performances. Keep an eye out for dates on their website. The featured artists tend to be international, and the space transforms into an immersive experience. It's not huge--you can take in the whole exhibit in about 30 minutes. If you're into art, it is a worthwhile visit Side notes.. There's often a kid-friendly activity area in the back. Street parking in that area can be a nightmare, but it's pretty easy to get to via the ferry or the Blue Line.