Visitors are invited to experience the natural beauty of the Arnold Arboretum on an outdoor, self-guided journey that centers resilience, healing, wellness, and joy. This collaboration between the A.R.T. and the Arboretum features audio plays written and performed by artists from Greater Boston and beyond, movement experiences, as well as pop-up music and dance performances, all set against the 281-acre backdrop of one of the jewels of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.
The A.R.T. returns to the open-access living museum designed by Frederick Law Olmsted following the 2019 Tree Planting Ceremony of a gingko tree, the culmination of A.R.T. Artist-In-Community Diana Oh’s year-long Clairvoyance series of installations and concerts.
Created by Kirsten Greenidge, Tim Hall, Jill Johnson, and Summer L. Williams
Produced in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
Production Sponsors
The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund
Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation
Development Support
Harvard University Committee on the Arts
Production Support
The Robert Brustein Endowment for New Work
Audio Plays
Visitors are invited to begin at any of the Arboretum’s fourteen gates to experience one or all four audio-based narratives set in the preserve and written collaboratively by a team of six playwrights. “The four scripted experiences speak to the layered complexity of what it means to be living during this time of reemergence,” says Kirsten Greenidge, the project’s Writer Chair.
Movement Meditations
Visitors are invited to use their bodies, breath, and imaginations to engage in a series of narrated interactive movement experiences. “Using choreographic thinking and calling on our various practices and traditions, the meditations aim to invite visitors to slow down, commune with nature, and connect to their bodies in open-ended ways,” says Choreographer Jill Johnson.
Pop-Ups
Live, pop-up performances begin Saturdays in September (rain dates Sundays).
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Plan Your Visit
The Arboretum Experience can be enjoyed seven days a week, sunrise to sunset into the fall. Visitors to the Arnold Arboretum can start their experience by using their mobile device to scan a QR code on a statue or sandwich board in the park, which are located at the Arborway, Bussey Street, Forest Hills, Centre Street, Walter Street, Peters Hill, Poplar, Mendum Street, and Washington Street Gates.
Remember to bring your fully charged smartphone and headphones for personal listening, or a portable speaker for a group journey. A limited number of mobile devices will be available on loan to visitors on Saturdays, September 18 – October 9. Visitors can pick them up from A.R.T. staff at the Arborway Gate from 12 to 4PM.
Accessibility
A.R.T. staff will be onsite at the Arborway Gate on Saturdays from 12 to 4PM through October 9. They can help with wayfinding, questions, and accessibility requests, including tech support for accessing the audio recordings, captioning, and guided experiences for people who are blind or have low vision. If you have questions or would like to arrange for personalized supports, please contact Access@amrep.org.
A limited number of mobile devices will be available on loan to visitors on Saturdays, September 18 – October 9. Visitors can pick them up from A.R.T. staff at the Arborway Gate.
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