In a gallery with blue walls adorned with paintings and sculptures, visitors sit with sketchpads and pencils, drawing the artwork around them.

Programs

Public programs at the Gallery amplify many voices, perspectives, and approaches. They provide space for the exchange of ideas and connect multiple audiences around art and art practices. We collaborate across the museum, the University, and the community to empower the public to look closely and make connections by actively participating, listening to others, and asking questions. All programs are free and open to the public. Come join us—your voice is welcome!

A group of people in a circle, engaged in conversation, surrounded by walls filled with works of art.

View Program Highlights

Outdoors, many people sit at a long table covered in bright pink fabric. The people are sewing smaller geometric shapes to the pink cloth. In a dark-walled gallery space, an audience sits around a standing woman facing a folded screen on a pedestal. The woman is speaking with her head turned to the audience while gesturing with a paintbrush in her right hand. A man stands at a podium on a stage speaking to an audience. A large screen projects an image to the left of the podium that reads, “John Walsh Lecture Series/Lecture One. Matisse Up Close and All Around: Matisse Liberates Color” A group of people sit together at a long, rectangular table in the lobby. The participants are engaged in conversation and a book-making activity. Paper and other art supplies fill the table. A group of seven people dressed in black wear black cut-out shapes on top of their heads and pose for a photo. The group stands in front of a white wall with bold black lines forming a grid-like pattern. One person holds a sign upside down that reads “Dada Ball”. Two people in conversation are seated in a gallery space facing an audience of people to the right, also in chairs. A life-sized metal sculpture resembling tree trunks stands to the left of the people. A group of six people stand together in a semi-circle in a gallery space with large paintings on the red walls. All group members sing while three hold musical instruments. A colorful, linear sculpture hangs in the foreground of the gallery space. Beyond the sculpture, some seated people draw the object while others stand and admire it. A large metallic object hangs on the wall behind the group. Studio Program, Sewing Circle with Marie Watt in lobby
  • Outdoors, many people sit at a long table covered in bright pink fabric. The people are sewing smaller geometric shapes to the pink cloth.
  • In a dark-walled gallery space, an audience sits around a standing woman facing a folded screen on a pedestal. The woman is speaking with her head turned to the audience while gesturing with a paintbrush in her right hand.
  • A man stands at a podium on a stage speaking to an audience. A large screen projects an image to the left of the podium that reads, “John Walsh Lecture Series/Lecture One. Matisse Up Close and All Around: Matisse Liberates Color”
  • A group of people sit together at a long, rectangular table in the lobby. The participants are engaged in conversation and a book-making activity. Paper and other art supplies fill the table.
  • A group of seven people dressed in black wear black cut-out shapes on top of their heads and pose for a photo. The group stands in front of a white wall with bold black lines forming a grid-like pattern. One person holds a sign upside down that reads “Dada Ball”.
  • Two people in conversation are seated in a gallery space facing an audience of people to the right, also in chairs. A life-sized metal sculpture resembling tree trunks stands to the left of the people.
  • A group of six people stand together in a semi-circle in a gallery space with large paintings on the red walls. All group members sing while three hold musical instruments.
  • A colorful, linear sculpture hangs in the foreground of the gallery space. Beyond the sculpture, some seated people draw the object while others stand and admire it. A large metallic object hangs on the wall behind the group.
  • People in a lobby space sit at multiple tables engaged in individual sewing activities. In the foreground, a person looks at another who is smiling while sewing.
  • A group of people seated in a gallery space holds books while one person reads aloud. On the left, a round white sculpture is displayed on a pedestal in a case. Behind the group hangs a large painting of a surreal landscape scene.

Upcoming Programs

A painting of a Black woman tightly framed from the chest up. Her body faces us, but she turns her head and looks left with a serene expression. She wears large, golden hoop earrings, blue eyeshadow, and a colorful patterned top. Her Afro rises to the image’s top edge. The figure appears cut-out and presses against a collage-like background, with wood paneling at left and plants at right.

Gallery Talks Mickalene Thomas’s Liz with Hoops

Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Art making as part of the Gallery’s Teen Art Studio, 2025

Teen Events Teen Art Studio

Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
An arm enters the frame at center left, preparing to strike an object resembling a bell, using a clublike object. The bell is one of several lined up in an L-shape in the image’s foreground. Seated figures appear blurrily in the background.

Performances Javanese Gamelan Concert

Thursday, November 20, 2025, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
View all events

Watch Program Videos

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    Adults

    Whether you prefer interactive conversations in front of a single work of art, lectures and symposia exploring art and ideas, or lively and creative performances related to our collections, you’ll find a program of interest at the Gallery.

  • A woman crouches down to converse with a toddler in a sun-filled exhibition space. The room is filled with many other people

    Youth and Families

    Come to the Gallery with your family and friends and explore art together! 

  • Gallery+

    An ongoing series that invites Yale students to respond to the Gallery’s collection through special programs and performances.

  • Visitor Services welcomes members to the Gallery

    Membership

    Sign up for our free membership and join fellow art lovers, students, alumni, and artists in discovering all that the Gallery has to offer.