city_hall

Official websites use .boston.gov

A .boston.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the City of Boston.

lock

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Last updated:

City Hall Galleries

The galleries at Boston City Hall promote and exhibit the work of Boston area artists.

You can find information about the galleries, as well as what's currently showing, on this page.

Current and upcoming exhibits

Exhibits
  • Location: Emerging Gallery, 8th Floor
  • Dates: November 6 - December 30, 2023

A dog jumps off of a kitchen table while a cat jumps off of the kitchen counter. Another smaller dog is seated on top of the kitchen table, and a person with long curly hair sits on the far side of the table, facing away from the camera.
Family Kitchen by Ileana Doble Hernandez

 Ileana Doble Hernandez started a series of staged photographs called Animal Nature, based on the disturbing relationship we have with animals, on the way we categorize them. Some are beloved companions while others do work for us, are our food or both. We create objects that represent them, we give them names and personalities, yet we eat them. The Algerian-French philosopher Jacques Derrida explains how distinguishing them as animals allows us to justify the violence we inflict upon them. 

To learn more or inquire to purchase this art, contact (ile@ileanadobleh.com)

  • Location: Mezzanine Gallery, 3rd Floor
  • Dates: November 6 - December 30, 2023

Painting from the People and Place exhibit By Hartman Deetz

 

 

This show explores concepts of people and place, those who are often out of sight and out of mind. Tapping into the experience of modern Native culture and community, artist Hartman Deetz from the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe hopes to highlight the need to increase visibility of threatened populations in spaces where decisions are made. The works feature subjects of Native people and their reciprocal relationship with the natural world through song, ceremony, sustainable harvest, and respect for all life. 

Hartman Deetz is a lifelong artist born into the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. An interdisciplinary artist, Deetz has spent years refining his skills in the realm of traditional cultural arts such as soapstone and wampum copperwork and woodcarving, but has always produced more contemporary art works as well such as screen printing linocuts and acrylic paintings on canvas. Deetz is also a performing artist who has performed internationally as a part of the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers, and as a playwright and stage actor with the Wampanoag Storytellers. 

To learn more or inquire to purchase his art, contact: hartman.deetz429@gmail.com.

Location: The Mayor’s Office Gallery, 5th Floor

Dates: November 6 - December 30, 2023

Artwork from Room For Daydreaming by Yalun Li exhibit

 

Yalun Li is an artist and an architect. Born in Beijing, China, she now lives and works in Boston and New York. She holds a Master of Architecture II degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her works investigate the threshold between the mundane and the fantastical with various mediums, including texts, prints, and paintings. The exhibition contains a series of prints and acrylic paintings that explore how architecture and space can transcribe narratives, imaginations, and emotions. 

To learn more or inquire to purchase this art, contact: yalunli12@gmail.com or 617-794-1005

  • Location: The Mayor’s Office Gallery (display case), 5th Floor 
  • Dates: November 6 - December 30, 2023

3D artwork from Home and Community by Janet Kawada

 

Janet Hansen Kawada's work explores relationship of texture, color and narrative through fibers. The Home series is an ongoing body of work that explores the concepts of what home is, how we carry it, and where it resides. The small representations of home draw their inspiration from the nomadic yurt. That round structure encloses a dwelling which on the outside may be plain but inside holds all the possessions of the family. The yurt needs a group of people to erect it and move it as they move in their life cycle. This necessitates the group communicating and working with each other to survive in the community.

To learn more or inquire to purchase this art, contact:  Jkawada@usa.net 

Website

Instagram 

  • Location: 3rd Floor Mezzanine, Boston City Hall
  • Dates: Ongoing

We Belong is a light-based public art installation with the intent to promote ideas of belonging and inclusion among communities in Boston. In LED neon, the work forms the text “We Belong – here – together – guided by the same stars” in a circular format, with a constellation that maps and connects Boston’s neighborhoods.

With the support of a City of Boston Transformative Public Art grant, the installation will travel to multiple Boston neighborhoods in 2022-2023, beginning with the East Boston Social Centers from July-September 2022. Local residents are invited to participate in the project by sharing what the concept of “belonging” means to them.

We Belong by Yu-Wen Wu

Yu-Wen Wu is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Boston. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Wu’s subjectivity as an immigrant is central to her artwork. Arriving in the United States at an early age, her experiences have shaped her work in areas of migration—examining issues of displacement, arrival, assimilation, and the shape of identity in a new country. Passionate about data, mapping, and its storytelling, Wu’s work lies at the crossroads of art, science, politics, and social issues. Her wide range of projects include large-scale drawings, sculpture, site- specific video installations, community-engaged practices, and public art. Wu has been awarded numerous grants, exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work is included in several private and public collections.

The Mayor's Poetry Program is an annual program in which Boston residents are invited to submit poems to be displayed throughout City Hall and in an online gallery for one year. The theme for 2023, selected by Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola, was "Love".

Read the 2023 Poems

Poem Locations

All poems are displayed next to the elevators on the south side of Boston City Hall. On the fifth floor, there is only one poem displayed on the wall to the left of the Mayor's Office reception area.

First floor
  • "Facetime" by Vivienne Shalom
  • "Love in Downtown Crossing" by Ann Doyle
Second Floor
  • "Boston: Mother to the World Behind My Ears" by Clementine Zei

  • "I Want to Lay Alone With Love" by Zofia Provizer
Third Floor
  • "Jefferson Avenue" by Tashanna Edwards
  • "a calendar of solar and lunar eclipses" by Emily Li
Fifth Floor
  • "On Deserving" by Naomi Westwater
Sixth Floor
  • "In Memory of My Wounded Survivor" by Rachel Hammerman
  • "Carrots" by Fatima Seck
Seventh Floor
  • "Photographs" by Marsha Kaminsky
  • "Boston Grocery Store" by Allison Tervo
Eighth Floor
  • "On a walk in the neighborhood without my son" by Ariel Friedman
  • "The Quiet Lake" by Harry Yu
Ninth Floor
  • "When We Were Young" by Mayank Chugh
  • "For the Ones I Am (Re)membering" by CoCo Rosenberg

Gallery locations

Mayor's Art Gallery

The Mayor's Gallery exhibits work by Boston area artists who have received recognition for their artwork through grants, awards and other types of public display.

Directions: It's located on the 5th floor of City Hall. From City Hall Plaza or Congress St. entrances, take South Elevators to the 5th floor, follow signs to Mayor's Office: signage marks the gallery entrance. If you are planning to attend an opening you must enter from Congress Street.

Mayor’s Neighborhood Gallery

Directions: Located on the 2nd floor near the South Elevators. From City Hall Plaza or Congress St. entrances, take South Elevators to the 2nd floor.

Scollay Square Gallery

The Scollay Square Gallery showcases the many arts organizations and artists community groups that support local artists throughout the City.

Directions: It's located on the 3rd floor/main lobby of City Hall. When entering from Congress St, take elevators to 3rd floor, proceed through lobby, passing the information desk on your right. The gallery is ahead of you. When entering from City Hall Plaza, proceed through lobby, passing the information desk on your right. The gallery is ahead of you. Signage marks the gallery entrance. If you are planning to attend an opening you must enter from Congress Street.

The Emerging Gallery

This is the newest of City Hall's galleries. It showcases Boston's up and coming artists.

Directions: It is located on the 8th floor of City Hall. When entering from Congress Street or Cambridge Street, take the elevators to the 8th floor. The gallery is in the hallway to the left of Room 801, which is perpendicular to the elevators. 

Back to top