Second Thursday of Every Month at 6 pm
Join us for this once-a-month event taking place at the museum. Speakers and artists help our visitors connect with art in fun and interesting ways. Specific themes for each evening are below.
Admission is free.
Thursday, April 13, 6 – 9 pm
Join us for a super-sized Museum Nights: Block pARTy celebrating STORIES! Enjoy a spring evening at the UF Cultural Plaza hosted by the Harn Museum of Art, the Phillips Center for Performing Arts and the Florida Museum of Natural History. Visit the galleries inside both museums, enjoy an open mic event with the Bard & Broadside Poetry Festival, explore the amazing world of spiders through craft and dance and fuel your creative side with art-making activities and so much more!
Previous Museum Nights
Thursday, March 9, 6 – 9 pm
Celebrate National Women’s History Month through an after-hours museum adventure of art, tours, performances, activities and more! Experience an immersive student project titled Archi-Sculpture, listen to tunes by Gainesville Girls Rock Camp and experience art by women artist in the museum collection through conversations with curators and docents. Visit the MUSE Makerspace for art-inspired activities. Free and open to all.
Thursday, February 9, 6 – 9 pm
Join us for a lively evening celebrating the beauty of the arts of Africa and the African diaspora, including the Harn’s newest exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture. Enjoy local dance and music with the UF Afro Pop and Agbedidi Ensembles, featuring remarkable artists from Gainesville and North Florida. This evening is also a unique collaboration with UF GatorNights: Avant Gator!
This evening sponsored in part by the UF Center for African Studies.
Thursday, January 12, 6 – 9 pm
Get ready for some serious affirmation, folks! The Harn’s newest exhibition, AWE-some: time :: materiality :: meaning, has us inspired to encourage even more fab-YOU-lous-ness. Learn more about the stunning photography from awesome curator Carol McCusker in a Museum Nights-sized gallery talk. Enjoy Day With(out) Art: Being & Belonging film screening, jazz by Hot Club de Ville, art blast tours, lite bites, and the glitz and sparkle of the galleries at night. Strut your stuff on the Harn’s first open runway with a very special guest emcee. Come out and show out!
Thursday, December 8, 6 – 9 pm
It’s a busy, bustling holiday season! Why not take an Art Break? Meander the galleries, enjoy the upbeat tunes of DJ Wax Atom, enjoy dance performances by the Harn Choreographers-in-Residence and celebrate the diverse traditions of the season in style! Bring two nonperishable food items and receive a ticket for a free book at our annual book sale. Communicate through art by creating a zine with UF Humanities Graduate Students. Make your own tiny treasure to take home and bring the good wishes of the Harn with you into the New Year!
Sponsored in part by the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere. Food drive for the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, a local partner distribution organization of Feeding America.
Thursday, November 10, 6 – 9 pm
Explore the museum and our highlighted exhibition Global Perspectives: Highlights from the Contemporary Collection in unexpected ways. Experience art through sound, poetry, dance, photo opportunities and more! Be on the hunt for new ways of seeing brought to you by both our campus partners and our own Harn MUSEs and creatives-in-residence. Curious? See you at this eye-opening Museum Nights event. Always free and open to all!
Sponsored in part by the UF Center for European Studies.
Tuesday, October 11, 6–9 pm
Experience art and culture from across Latin and Indigenous America through tours, activities and dance. Storyteller Carrie Sue Ayvar will present Stories of Florida-Con Sabor! in Spanish and English. Embark on a journey into the imagination that connects the people and cultures of Florida, con un poco de sabor Latino! Practice your dance moves with Salsa Mundial and the Gator Salsa Club. Enjoy new art-inspired choreography by the Harn Choreographers-in-Residence and art interactions with the Harn MUSEs.
Explore local resources from our tabling partners: Indigenous People’s Task Force, the Gator Chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the UF Disability Resource Center.
The Florida Talks portion of this Museum Nights program is a partnership between Florida Humanities and the Harn Museum of Art. Funding for this program was provided by Florida Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Thursday, September 8, 6–9 pm
Join us for off the wall activities relating to art on the walls in Speechless: Text & Image in Global Culture. Art-making, poetry readings, docent tours and performances will make our walls talk...and dance! Guest artists include muralist Jenna Horner, Alachua County poet laureate E. Stanley Richardson and Harn choreographers-in-residence. Learn more from our tabling partners about local treasures: the Writers Alliance of Gainesville and the Civic Media Center. Food trucks will have a limited number of free vouchers, snacks also available for purchase. Museum Nights are free and open to all!
Thursday, August 11, 6–9 pm
Join a super-sized Museum Nights Block pARTy hosted at the UF Cultural Plaza by the Harn Museum of Art, the Phillips Center for Performing Arts and the Florida Museum of Natural History! Pick up your event passport at the Information Tent for a chance to win cool prizes during the pop-up activities happening inside and outside of each venue. Visit the galleries inside both museums, enjoy the Driveway Theatre Project, investigate backyard biodiversity with a scientist, explore your creative side with a make-and-take screen-printing activity, and so much more. Feed your left and right brains and then feed yourself at B’z Gelati and Fat G BBQ food trucks (vegan options available). You won't want to miss this fun back-to-class event.
Thursday, July 14, 6–9 pm
Celebrate the art of chillaxation! Enjoy an evening of ambient performances selected by local music producer Kane Pour in a chill space, indulge in a chair massage hosted by SW Rec Sports and interact with the AWARE student ambassadors from the UF Counseling and Wellness Center. Don’t miss an Art Blast tour led by a museum docent, as the galleries are open all evening. Food, fun and good vibes await!
Thursday, May 12, 6 pm
Picture this! A night at the museum filled with photography-themed activities, tours and yummy snacks. Put yourself – along with your friends – in the frame in The Same, But Different photobooth. Follow a curator on a tour of the new Copia II photography exhibition – this installation includes groupings of photographs that share “chance” similarities. Enjoy the galleries during an active and energized evening with a live performance of blues & soul by the Ramblin’ Mutts and participate in a storytelling open-mic meet-up with Self Narrate. And more! Free and open to all.
Thursday, April 14, 6 pm
Experience art from Asia during an after-hours museum event as we celebrate the contributions of women artists to Asian Art & Culture! Student, faculty and UF and community collaborators offer a wide range of performances, art-blast tours, art-making activities and more. Attend the film screening of Jasmine Lee’s Money and Honey which examines gender and cultural identity; listen to the UF Chinese Traditional Instrumental Ensemble; create your own art with the Florida Gainesville Taiwanese Association; and explore our highlighted exhibition She/Her/Hers: Women in the Arts of China. Enjoy free refreshments outdoors. Free and open to all.
Presented with support from the UF International Center, and in partnership with the UF Sustainable Online Network for Global-Cultural Studies (SONGS).
Thursday, March 10, 6 pm
Embark on an after-hours museum adventure of art, tours, performances, activities and more! Experience an Immersive Opera by Composer Nathan Felix; engage with SOBER BABY Podcast to challenge your conception of addiction and sobriety; boost your language diversity awareness with Language Access in North Central Florida and explore our highlighted exhibition Plural Domains: Selected Works from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Collection. Enjoy free refreshments outdoors. Free and open to all.
Thursday, February 10, 6 pm
Join us for a vibrant evening featuring art, dance and music with the African Popular Music Ensemble; the Agbedidi Dance Ensemble and dancers from Nan Nkama Ensemble from Jacksonville. Featured artists include Aboubacar Soumah, Aboubacar Camara, Kenneth Metzler, Christa Sylla and more! You’ll also enjoy free refreshments out-of-doors and art-making. Free and open to all. Co-sponsored by the Center for African Studies.
Thursday, January 13, 6 pm
Art is for all and so is Museum Nights! Spend your evening engaging in diverse arts-based experiences that take place in the galleries, online and throughout the Harn. Endia Beal–a boundary-pushing socially engaged artist and TIME photographer of the year–will present a live stream talk to attend in the museum or online and educators will offer micro tours in the galleries. Enjoy art-making activities for all and art throughout the night!
Scheduled Events:
6:30 – 8 pm: Live-Streamed Artist Talk with Endia Beal –Auditorium
Ongoing Events:
Decolonizing Representation Workshop Art Installation
Footwork Art Installation by Sandra Murphy-Pak
Lite Bites & Refreshments
Tabling Partners:
Disability Ambassadors from the UF Disability Resource Center
Figure on Diversity
Constellation Charter School of Gainesville
Harn Museum of Art Membership
Harn Museum of Art Docent Program
Art Blast Tours:
6:30 pm: “Trading Places” (Contemporary Gallery)
6:45 pm: “Paired Pictures” (Shadow to Substance)
7:00 pm: “Is that Art?” (Modern Gallery)
Thursday, December 9, 6 pm
Join us for your Holidays in the Sun, celebrating diverse traditions of December and beyond at the Harn. Enjoy sun-splashed art, radiant performances, warming snacks and cold drinks and festive art activities. Browse our "Books for Bucks" sale and find unexpected treasures.
Enjoy the inspiring vibes of 352Creates including a seasonal DIY rosemary wreath-making project (all supplies provided) and the amazing sounds of Jason Hedges.
Jason Hedges is a native of Gainesville, Florida and has been involved with the local music scene for decades. He has played with several bands, such as Company Man, HEDGES and Heavy Petty, Gainesville’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band. Jason is also a musician in residence with UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine program where he plays bedside for patients. Jason draws influence from such artists as Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Jim Croce, The Beatles, George Jones, Johnny Cash and John Prine.
Free and open to all.
Free Food
Festive Art Activities
Holiday Photo Op
Art Tours
Tuesday, November 9, 6 pm
Voyage in, around and through landscapes near and far, photographed and painted during our Museum Nights on a Tuesday. Explore art with friends and guides, meet remarkable land-loving groups from the area and enjoy performances, creative activities and a fun photo-op.
Museum Nights is an ongoing program made possible by University of Florida Student Government and the Office of the Provost. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Into the Landscape is presented with the support of the Center for European Studies.
Scheduled Events:
6:30 – 8 pm: Hot Club de Ville – Promenade
6:30 – 7:15 pm: Plant Life Student Talks – Rotunda
7:15 – 7:45 pm: Artist Talk with Chrissy Martinez, Nature & Wildlife Photographer – Asian Axline Gallery
Ongoing Events:
Enjoy Lite Bites & Refreshments – Magoon Garden
Pose for a Landscape-Inspired Photo Booth – Galleria
Embark on a Scavenger Hunt - Galleria
Engage with Land-Loving Table Partners – Galleria
Art Blast Tours:
6:30 pm: Florida Impressions
6:30 – 7 pm: Art Blast Tour and Poetry for Landscapes – Bishop Gallery
Poetry: Adam Mickiewicz and Wislawa Szymborska in Polish and English translation read by Kasia Emin
Aleksandr Pushkin in Russian and English translation read by Samantha Gildea & Caroline Bradley
William Wordsworth in English read by Richard Tate
Thursday, October 14, 6–9 pm (in person)
Step into an evening composed of performances, tours, activities and more inspired by the photography exhibition Shadow to Substance. Museum Nights: Reframing the Lens invites you to play with the frame while experiencing this dynamic portrait of Black history and life.
Dopenmic hosts an open mic at the Harn under their moto: “Come to understand. Stay to be understood.” Dopenmic is dedicated to creating a space for underrepresented BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists.
Enjoy some tunes spun by DJ WAX ATOM, your friendly neighborhood DJ. @waxatom
Make art inspired by Gainesville’s neighborhoods with Bailey’s Learning & Art Collective, Inc.
Living and Linking African Legacies: the Art of Prince Merid Tafessee Talk with Desta Meghoo
The Rebirth of Us Inspired Photo Booth
Light Bites and Refreshments
One and a Half Sisters - Plant Life Art Blast Tour
Thursday, September 9, 6 pm (in person) at the Harn
Discover art and culture from across Latin America through exhibitions, tours, activities and conversations. It will be opening day of Plural Domains: Selected Works from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Collection. The exhibition features work by more than 30 Latin American artists.
Macarena Deij Prado, UF PhD candidate in colonial art of the Americas will lead a gallery tour of "Plural Domains" at 7:30 pm.
Y-Not-Theatre will perform "The Gulf" a bilingual full-length play by Jessica Farr. Narrated by a drone combing the South Eastern coastline, "The Gulf," imagines a post-nuclear world where four relative strangers live together in a fallout shelter.
Enjoy music with DJ Elio Piedra outside our contemporary pavilion along with free food.
This is an ongoing program made possible by the generous support of UF Student Government and the Office of the Provost. Additional support for this evening provided by UF Center for Latin American Studies.
In addition, learn about Gardens for Peace, a unique project organized by Martin McKellar, Asian Garden Specialist & Volunteer, with the participation of Elizabeth Husband, Volunteer Advocate for Guardian Ad Litem; Crystal Sorrow, Director of Child and Youth Services for Peaceful Paths; Eric Estling, Program Manager for River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding; and Scott Camil and Mary Bah, Veterans for Peace.
Thursday, August 12, 6 pm (in person)
Step into the Lens (and back into the Harn) for this Museum Nights inspired by our new photography exhibition Shadow to Substance. In addition to exploring a dynamic portrait of Black history and life in the galleries, enjoy performances, tours and striking a pose with photographer Tylor Scott. Don’t miss meeting artists and their one-night display of art from Umoja, an exhibition of Black art from Alachua County presented by Gainesville Fine Arts Association.
Thursday, July 8, 7 pm (virtual event)
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Join our Summer pARTy, complete with art features, a dance party led by Shera Sherman and a trivia contest with prizes. We’re saying hello to summer and celebrating our last full virtual, online Museum Nights. That’s right, next month we look forward to welcoming you back to the Harn. So gather your ingredients for one of our refreshing drinks (recipes below) and get ready to sip along with us during our Summer pARTy!
Gator Orange Mimosa
• 2 parts orange juice
• 1 part your favorite lemon lime soda (Sprite, 7-Up, Sierra Mist, etc.)
• Top with a slice of orange, lemon or lime
Gator Blue Spritzer
• 2 parts Hawaiian Punch Blue Typhoon
• 1 part your favorite lemon lime soda
• Top with watermelon or orange slice
Thursday, June 10, 7 pm (virtual event)
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
This summer we’re putting Florida in the frame as we look at artists looking at Florida. This fun online event is inspired by the exhibition "A Florida Legacy: Gift of Samuel H. and Roberta T. Vickers," currently on view at the Harn and featuring more than 150 views of Florida from the past 200 years. With special guests Chrissy Martinez, local nature photographer; Hillary Van Dyke, volunteer leader of Outdoor Afro; Dulce Román, Chief Curator and Curator of Modern Art, and Leah Harrell, Harn Curatorial intern.
Thursday, May 13, 7 pm (virtual event)
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Every day can be Extraordinary when you stop to look and discover! Join us for Museum Nights: Everyday Extraordinary, an evening online event focusing on Asian art and culture, and inspired by the current Harn exhibition, Everyday to the Extraordinary: Highlights From the Korean Collection.
Activities:
Food Demonstration: Ken Albala, Professor of History at University of the Pacific and an expert on food history, will demonstrate making a mouth-watering Korean noodle dish.
Exhibition Object Discussions:
Poetry: Mihye Bang, a doctoral candidate at UF in English literature and a Harn Museum intern, will present a beautiful poem about a Korean dance that is depicted in a remarkable scroll painting on view. In Korean and English!
Thursday, April 8, 7 pm (virtual event)
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
It’s time for Print Palooza--celebrating and creating prints! We’ll be joined by printmakers (and visit some studios) and an art historian to learn about prints from the Harn collection. Then, you can create your own relief print with materials you’ll have at home (or you can pick up a free kit at the museum). Read more at the Facebook event page.
Thursday, March 11, 7 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
We’ll be joined by student art historians, performers and word lovers, to enjoy perspectives on art at the Harn, dance and poetry, all with a European twist. Join us live on this date or return to the Harn's YouTube channel at a later date to view.
The art of POETRY will be presented in Hungarian, Polish and Turkish (with English translations).
Experience the art of DANCE with performances by GASA--the UF Greek American Student Association, and UF Ailigéadar Irish Dance.
Dive into the Harn's collection with UF Art History students Ava Bender and Ella McIver. They'll share a European WORK OF ART brought out from the vaults!
Museum Nights is supported by UF Student Government with additional support on this evening provided by UF Center for European Studies.
Thursday, February 11, 7 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Experience art from throughout Africa and the African diaspora, as we take inspiration from Sankofa to bring together art-past and art-present in conversation and performance. In partnership with the UF Center for African Studies.
SCHEDULE
7pm Welcome
with Agnes Leslie, Center for African Studies
7:10 Storytelling with Kole Odutola
7:30 Dance with Barakissa Coulibaly and Mosso-Kan West African Dance and Drum Ensemble
joined by UF West African Dance students
7:50 Felicity Tackey-Otoo – Sankofa: African Wax Print Gist
Thursday, January 14, 7 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Join the Harn for conversations focusing on the exhibition Global Perspectives: Highlights from the Contemporary Collection. This live event will take place on the Harn's YouTube Channel. Museum Nights is supported by UF Student Government and the Office of the Provost. Additional support for this evening provided by the UF Center for European Studies and is presented in collaboration with the UF International Center.
Museum Nights: Global Inspirations featured:
Thursday, December 10, 7 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Connect with your campus and community as we celebrate the visual and vocal energy of Gainesville. Local Vocal will include a conversation about the creation and performance of the play "From Colored to Black" with actor and poet E. Stanley Richardson, UF student and researcher/writer Brittney Caldwell, and director Jeffrey Pufahl (UF Center for Arts in Medicine); as well as the presentation of two recorded student dance performances. These include “In/habit/at” from SWAMP Dance Fest! 2020 under the Direction of Trent Williams, and “inter intra extra” choreographed by BFA student Rebekah Minter. Ms. Minter and dancer Samantha Coplon will join us for a live conversation.
Thursday, November 12, 6 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Celebrating the new exhibition "Breaking the Frame: Women Artists in the Harn Collections," this evening of dance, visual art and creative exploration presents a range of dynamic voices that contribute to and reveal the her-story of art. Experience a virtual performance of "Fragments," a dance work that explores the relationship between body and memory, then participate in UF student gallery discussions and a conversation between artists on creative practices.
Thursday, October 8, 6 - 8 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
The Harn Museum of Art is celebrating 30 years of being YOUR art museum! Visitors to the Harn’s YouTube channel during this event will hear directly from internationally known artist Radcliffe Bailey in conversation with Dr. Porchia Moore, Department Head and Assistant Professor of Museum Studies at the University of Florida in the School of Art + Art History. Bailey will discuss his artistic process and specifically the artwork “Returnal” which is a part of the Harn’s collection. Harn curators will discuss the collections they work within the galleries and reveal interesting facts about specific works of art.
Thursday, September 10, 6 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Celebrate art and culture from across Latin America. We’ll be joined by our friends from the Gainesville Latino Film Festival, and then we’ll hear from--and share your chat questions with--UF faculty Derek Berdette (a specialist in Latin American Art History), Efraín Barradas (an expert in Caribbean literature, Latino Studies, Mexican culture, history of art and ideas in Latin America) and Dulce Roman, Chief Curator and Curator of Modern Art at the Harn. We’ll also share an activity you can do at home. Join us on our YouTube channel.
Thursday, August 13, 6 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Imagine turning raw earth into inspiring art. What could that look like? Join the Harn and Studio TM Clay and Pottery for this live event on the Harn's YouTube channel. Artists Sara Truman (MFA, Ceramics, and Ceramics Instructor at Gainesville High School) and Ailynda Ho (UF BFA, Ceramics) will provide a peek into their studio, explore ceramics, the art of transforming clay into objects that we live with, admire, and–too often–break. This event is inspired by ceramics on view in the Harn's time-themed exhibition Tempus Fugit :: 光陰矢の如し:: Time Flies. It’s a ClayDate!
Thursday, July 9, 6 - 7:30 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Join us live at our YouTube channel for an inspiring look at the expressive art of metal. In a world of mass-production of relentlessly identical forms, we focus on the human aspects of metal and on metal workers who create richly layered objects. Presented in celebration of Peace, Power and Prestige: Metal Arts in Africa, on view at the Harn. Join metal artist Yaw Owusu Shangofemi in conversation with Dr. Ade Ofunniyin and Dr. Jody Berman.
Thursday, June 11, 6 – 7 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Join us live at our YouTube channel for a live conversation with artist Maggie Taylor as she takes us down the rabbit hole and through the looking-glass in pursuit of mind-bending illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. Taylor will speak and share a peek inside her studio in anticipation of the exhibition Dreaming Alice: Maggie Taylor Through the Looking-Glass at the Harn Museum. Inspired yet? We’ll also be sharing hands-on activities you can do at home at any time. Don’t be late for this very important date!
Thursday, May 14, 6 – 8 pm
View the recorded program on the Harn's YouTube Channel here.
Let’s put the ART in pARTy this evening! Join us for “Conversations with Creatives”: local artists and UF graduates share their creative practices, studios, inspirations and motivations. Contribute your questions in a live Q + A. Hear from UF Professor of Mathematics Kevin Knudson, faculty curator of ART + MATH, and Ellen Knudson, UF Associate in Book Arts. Create a paper fold with the Knudsons to remember this Arty Party! Artists joining the pARTy: Iris Coe-Gross, Molly Kempson, Kristyn Lopez and Brett Taylor. We will live stream on our YouTube channel here.
Learn how to get involved further with Museum Nights here.
Museum Nights is an ongoing program made possible by University of Florida Student Government and the Office of the Provost. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Harn Voices
I love the Harn. The art is so full of poetry it's inspiring. I love Museum Nights when we set up a table and invite visitors to sit down with us and do a little creative writing about the art they've seen.
Harn Museum of Art
3259 Hull Road
Gainesville, Florida 32608
Phone: 352.392.9826
Directions to the Harn
Staff Directory
Accredited by the American
Alliance of Museums.
