This is a wonderful little art gallery on Newbury Street which is starting to take the lead in…read moreBoston's underdeveloped public art scene. I've never purposely gone in with the intention of seeing the particular artist's work, but I've always been impressed and delighted by what I've seen. Currently there are two Boston artists showing here, one of whom uses solar panels on the backs of his sculptures to produce a false sense of movement. The gallery seems to show new, interesting work, which both challenges current artistic boundaries and continues to be beautiful and enjoyable to look at. And in the end, that's what always gets me.

Great staff and there so much to see. Being able to see some of these innovations in real life,…read morethat I had only previous seen in history books or documentaries was pretty neat. My favorite part was to see some of the belt driven machinery actually work. We had visited the day after a person had come and replaced some of the belts. We were able to see a belt driven (automated) saw cut through a chunk of metal. It was an impromptu demo as we were walking around the the staff member saw us examining this particular piece of equipment (with our eyes of course). And he started it up for us. Again...staff is really enthusiastic and engaging. We also got to see where they do hands on workshops, where kids can design and print things in 3D, which is pretty cool. They had a nice even space as well for smaller weddings/events. Easy parking (pay) in a nearby garage and a easy walk across the bridge/walkway to get to the museum. If this type of history interests you, I would definitely recommend you stopping by. We were there for a couple of hours and throughly enjoyed the staff showing us around. Cute gift shop as well.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've worked over a decade in this area of Waltham and have never…read morerealized this hidden gem of a historical museum existed. The guys working the front desk are super knowledgeable, funny, helpful and nice. One of them was kind enough to give us a brief intro when we first arrived. They can totally geek out on all sorts of interesting facts, which I live to absorb. Still, I wish I had planned it in advance so we could have a formal tour because there's so much to see. Before coming here I had no idea that Massachusetts held such a rich industrial heritage. We spent two hours exploring the two story museum. There were plenty of interactive exhibits (great for the kiddos and adults) and each time we looped around the museum we found something else we missed the first time going through. This place is a haven especially for those who are interested in history and engineering. They had antique bikes, wooden cars, steam fire engines, watchmaking tools, belt driven machines, typography machines, horse drawn fire truck, and even a phone booth! They also do a great job of mixing in some modern and new exhibits (e.g., we saw whimsical puppetry paintings by Tanya Harsch). The second floor also has a beautiful and grand ballroom space (perfect for corporate events or weddings). I can't wait to come back here. Whether you are local or from out of town I'd highly recommend a visit.

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!!!

Kingston Gallery (run and staffed entirely by its member artists) consistently exhibits excellent…read morework in Boston's SoWa art district. We've been there over a hundred times throughout the years, and are always interested in, and challenged by, the art they show. It's a great place to meet the artists, too, on First Fridays (when shows typically open, and galleries stay open until 8 or 9PM). Bonus: If you find a piece you love but can't pay for it all at once, they'll work with you to come up with a payment plan.

I had some art to sell. These weren't exactly Picassos, Pollocks, or Van Goghs, and never having…read moresold artwork before, I thought that contacting as many local galleries as possible would be a good way to find a place that would be interested, or at least help point me in the right direction. Most galleries I contacted were friendly and helpful. Some were interested in seeing the works. When I contacted the Kingston Gallery, a nameless representative tersely wrote back, "We are not that kind of gallery." I wrote back, "Thank you for letting me know!" The nameless responder then had the audacity to write back, "Best always to do some research first." Of course, me writing into the gallery in the first place WAS research. I wrote back, "Best also to not send snide responses!" While the responder was bold enough to be scornful, I noticed that he/she wasn't brave enough to even sign his/her messages. Regardless, knowing that such a nasty piece of work is employed at this place has inspired me to caution others against it. Artists seeking to exhibit their work would do well to find a friendlier place!

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.

An exciting event that's coming up in early 2007:…read more"Brickbottom Celebrates MacDowell" January 11-February 10 Brickbottom Gallery is honoring the MacDowell Colony's centennial year by featuring visual art created by the following local MacDowell Fellows: Karen Aqua, Toby Atlas, Michael Beatty, Erica Daborn, Liza Folman, Jane Goldman, Brian Healy, Catherine Kernan, Nona Hershey, Colleen Kiely, Suzanne Menon, Debra Olin, Amy Ragus, Lorna Ritz, Paul Santoleri, Jonathan Santos, Sandra Stark, Naoe Suzuki, Debra Weisberg, and Chantal Zakari. Schedule of special events: Opening Reception, Sunday, Jan. 21: 4-6 pm, music by "Blues Cabaret" jazz quartet; 6-7 pm music improv with Ken Field and David Sholl; 7pm animation by Karen Aqua. Writers Evening, Sunday, January 28: 7pm with Herbert Krohn, Marsha Pomerantz, Monica Raymond and Joyce Van Dyke.

Great non-profit community gallery between Lechmere and Union Square. There is almost always…read moresomething interesting on view, ranging from open-themed member shows (Brickbottom Artists' Association, which is actually open to artists beyond those living/working at Brickbottom) to small group shows organized by area artists/curators. Brickbottom Gallery is also a venue for the Somerville Toy Camera Festival. How cool is that?

Nice stage here.. I just watched The Rape of Lucretia, the Opera. Has a nice closed setting to get…read morea really captive audience... the acoustics was great. State-of-the-art lighting I really liked it. This is probably a good place to host some good company meetings or parties or any other gathering. My location is in the South end conveniently across from Coppersmith, the gastro pub.

I Recently went here for my sister in law's wedding and it was so beautiful!! The whole night was…read morejust spectacular!!

I had a Gilt City for this experience and have been waiting for months to go…read more My boyfriend and I finally went last week, and we were both thoroughly impressed by Edwards and his passion for bringing together art and science. We walked through the museum portion first interacting with different stations. The museum is pretty small but detailed and takes about 30 minutes max to go through everything detailed though you can probably skim it in 15. The exhibits do rotate and the last one we wanted to see sold out. As we entered the next room we were greeted with a fabulous gimlet. 5 stars! Next we had the taste and smell experience of the exhibit where they had a vaporizing machine and you could drink (inhale) a margarita or chocolate which was mind blowing and so unique. We then did a smell machine where we guessed scents the machine was able to make up off different nodes, so fun. We tried inhaling chocolate cocoa through a cigarette-like candy. Our favorite was the vanilla coconut milk gel covered balls. They were delicious and unlike anything we have ever had. Super refreshing. We had such a good night we continued to Cafe ArtScience right next door where Todd Maul (former mixologist at Clio, our old favorite go-to) impressed us once again by mixing up some impressive concoctions. Probably one of our best date nights yet, so unique fun and different.

UNIQUE ART & DESIGN CENTER FOR A FULL SENSORY EXPERIENCE…read moreopen Wednesday - Saturday! I'm so surprised that I had never heard of Le Laboratoire before. Sitting next to Cafe ArtScience, this art gallery/design center is cleverly in the center of bustling biotech/pharma that is growing in Kendall Square. A Harvard professor opened this gallery only in Paris and Cambridge, MA as a place of true innovation showcased in a truly interactive way. I purchased a Gilt City deal for a guided tour through the Lab Lounge. The deal included the following: + GALLERY OF "THE TROUBLE WITH JELLYFISH": A full gallery with paintings, drawings, and a furniture installation with unique jelly fish objects, live jellyfish, and interactive ways to learn about the ways jellyfish are impacting the ecosystem. This exhibit is ongoing until Jan 2, 2016! + "OPHONE" EXPERIENCE: We were able to witness creating and sending different smells directly from an iPad to a device called the ophone, which emitted smells from different card insertions. + INHALABLE WHAF: Taking alcohol, this whaf turned the liquid into smoke that you could inhale and taste. You can't get drunk off of this "cocktail", though! + "AERO" BREATHABLE CHOCOLATE: This device looked like a mini vape, where you could inhale chocolate without consuming the calories! These aero shots were also available for caffeine and vitamin C shots. + LAB COCKTAILS: They were really strong! ~ 8 WIKI ICE CREAM TREATS: These ice creams were self-contained sundaes - little balls of ice cream in the center with chocolate or blueberry coating. I would just rather have a normal sundae! The guided tour was an awesome experience and we were able to see other inventions that were using recycled plastic and trying to preserve/create energy. This is a truly unique exhibit and perfect for the Kendall Square area, a place full of educated individuals and growing innovative industries. Definitely stop by for a date or group outing!