Tours and programs

Guided tours

Public tours begin at the Lancaster Welcome Center. Highlights Tours These docent-led guided experiences explore significant art, artists, and cultures presented throughout WAM's galleries. Tours are held every Sunday at 1pm.

Zip Zooms & Zip Tours Join us for our docent-led art discussions on selected works in the collection. These 30minute spotlights include time for audience comments and questions. Virtual Zip Zooms are on the following Wednesdays at 12:30pm: March 9, March 23, April 6, April 20, May 4, May 18, June 1, June 15, and June 29. Free; advance registration required. Visit our online calendar at worcesterart.org for topics and links to programs. Onsite Zip Tours on the same topics are on the following Saturdays at 12:30pm: March 12, March 26, April 9, April 23, May 7, May 21, June 4, June 18, and July 2. Mother’s Day Highlights Tour Sunday, May 8, 1pm, and 2pm This docent-led program showcases works of art depicting mothers and motherhood. Father’s Day Highlights Tour Sunday, June 19, 1pm, and 2pm Fathers and fatherhood in the galleries are the theme of this docent-led program. Group Tours To schedule an onsite adult or youth/student group tour, contact KaylaPeterson@worcesterart.org. Due to COVID-19, masks are required for all participants. Please check WAM’s website for more information.

Family programs

Art Carts: Family Fun in the Galleries Think visiting a museum is just walking around and looking at “stuff?” Think again! Have fun learning with hands-on activities at our Art Carts. With the assistance of knowledgeable staff, Art Carts offer engaging explorations of different themes. Check our online calendar for dates and times.

Arms + Armor Presentations The second and fourth Saturdays each month at 11:30am and 2pm. Free with Museum admission. Discover different kinds of arms and armor used by Roman soldiers, medieval knights, and more in this fun, interactive program. Events held in the Museum Conference Room. 11:30am demonstrations also streamed on WAM's Facebook Live page. Spring Community Day Sunday, April 3, 10am – 4pm Free Inspired by works in the collection, learn how the start of spring is observed around the world with a joyful day of art-making, music, and celebration.

CLASS SCHOLARSHIPS Scholarships are available for onsite and online classes. Individuals with financial need who would like to apply for a scholarship may contact us at 508.793.4339.

Studio art classes and workshops

Whether you are an experienced artist, just beginning, or looking for in-person or virtual instruction, we have an art class for you! Go to worcesterart.org/classes for course descriptions, schedules, and to register. Spring Youth Classes: April 6 – June 11 Spring Adult Classes: April 27 – June 30 Summer Youth and Adult Classes: July 11 – August 19

April Art vacation week

Elemental Art: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water April 18 – 22 School vacation week for youth and teens will celebrate the elements of nature through art. In a variety of media—drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture—we’ll explore how nature has influenced art and how art can reflect nature. Intensive workshops for teens on figure drawing, acrylic painting, sculpture, and more also available.

WAM Teen Council

Do you know a teen that would like to be involved in developing Museum programming? We’d love to meet them! As part of grant funding from the National Endowment of the Arts, we are developing teen programs—spearheaded in part by Worcester’s own teens. Reach out to us at teens@worcesterart.org to get involved in programs such as teen docents, paid internships, teen nights, and more. This March and April, we are accepting applications for our next Teen Council.

Summer Film Series

Join us outside in the Stoddard Courtyard for our summer film series, held in conjunction with Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures From the Worcester Art Museum Collection. Bring a blanket to sit on the lawn, or use one of our tables and chairs. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. Members $12, non-members $18 (includes admission for two for a return visit), children (0-17) free. Friday, August 19: The Great Muppet Caper Jim Henson's Kermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear travel to England as reporters to interview a wealthy victim of jewel thieves. Friday, August 26: Night at the Museum A night watchman (Ben Stiller) at a museum of natural history makes a startling discovery when an ancient Egyptian curse is unleashed.

MASTER SERIES 2022

The Worcester Art Museum’s Third Thursday Master Series features in-depth presentations by art scholars, providing insights and stories about works in the Museum’s collection or on view in special exhibitions. The art talks are held on most third Thursdays at 6pm.

Hosted by the WAM Members’ Council, the Master Series is presented with support from the Bernard G. and Louise B. Palitz Fund and the Amelia and Robert H. Haley Memorial Lecture Fund.

Sponsored by:

March 17, 6pm — Kimberly Juanita Brown, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, Dartmouth College Us Them We | Race Ethnicity Identity This exhibition considers the ways artists from the last 40 years accentuate concepts like race and ethnicity through four formal devices: text, juxtaposition, seriality and pattern. Artists often employ one or more of these approaches as a means of storytelling, protest, and celebration. Kimberly Juanita Brown, a specialist in visual culture studies, will address selected works in the exhibition and share thoughts on the stories they tell.

April 21, 6pm — Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, Ph.D., Curator and Head of Italian and Spanish paintings, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Pierre Subleyras’ Portrait of Maria Felice Tibaldi This WAM portrait is featured in By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800, the first exhibition solely dedicated to Italian women artists. The co-curator of the exhibition, which started at the Wadsworth Atheneum and is now in Detroit, will share more about the portrait of this female artist and its role in the show.

May 19, 6pm — Courtney Ann Stewart, Researcher of Islamic art history, and the history of jewelry and gemstones Amulets and Adornments from Islamic Lands As a prelude to the opening of Jewels of the Nile, Courtney Ann Stewart talks about jewelry and gemstones from the Islamic world, highlighting the various associations of such ornaments, from symbols of power to sacred objects of protection. Featuring stunning artwork from the WAM collection and others, Islamic jewelry will be contextualized and connected to precursors from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Images, top to bottom: Kara Walker, Scene of McPherson's Death, 2005, Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), offset lithography and screenprint on wove paper, Sarah C. Garver Fund, 2007.5; Pierre Subleyras, Maria Felice Tibaldi,1739–1749, oil on canvas, Gift of Helen Bigelow Merriman, 1901.54; Lapis Lazuli Scarab Ring, New Kingdom, ca. 1539–1077 BCE, Lapis lazuli and gold (modern), 1926.79; Amethyst Scarab Ring, Possibly Middle Kingdom, ca. 1980–1760 BCE, Amethyst and gold (modern), 1926.82; Faience Scarab Ring, New Kingdom, ca. 1539–1077 BCE, Faience and gold (modern), 1926.83; Carnelian Scarab Ring with a Human Face, New Kingdom, ca. 1539–1077 BCE, Carnelian and gold (modern), 1926.85;