Spring has arrived, and with it, April showers, new public art and grant opportunities, and the final weeks of Michelle Lopez: Shadow of a Doubt and Magical Thinking, of Systems and Beliefs, which run through Sunday, April 19.

We’re so grateful for everyone who joined us last month for a brilliant artist talk with Michelle Lopez, followed by an incredible morning celebrating visibility, resistance, and sound art with TUAG’s presentation of her participatory performance Keep Their Heads Ringin’, pictured above.

After a March that was in like a lion and out like…well, a lion, we’re dreaming of warmer weather, longer days, and plenty of exciting opportunities in the months ahead. Explore more news below and at artgalleries.tufts.edu.

We are so delighted to present Xylotheque’s Nocturne by Kate Conlon and Boyang Hou, the newest addition to our public art program and the latest iteration of the Henricks Art Wall, a rotating exhibition space in the atrium of the Tsungming Tu Complex (TTC), featuring newly commissioned artworks by artists affiliated with Tufts-SMFA, and generously supported by Joan M. Henricks, J69, and Alan S. Henricks.

Conlon and Hou, both faculty at SMFA at Tufts and collaborators under the moniker Limited Time Engagement (LTE) used laser-cut wood inlay to depict modern-day cabinets of curiosities with laboratory imagery from the TTC. These panels create a portrait of the TTC’s spaces for learning and research through a merger of ancient and contemporary techniques, harkening to a time when the arts and sciences were a single, shared discipline of human achievement. The installation’s title, Xylotheque’s Nocturne, alludes to historical collections of book-shaped wood specimens housed in fashionable cabinets, known in their time as xylotheques—while also referencing the TTC’s focus on research and the artwork’s own materiality.

The Collective Futures Fund (CFF) is an initiative directly supporting the creation of independent, non-traditional, public-facing artists’ projects in the Greater Boston area.

Thanks to generous support from Barr Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and an anonymous donor, CFF was able to increase project grants to $8,000 and Sustaining Practice grants to $3,000 for the 2026 cycle.

Applicants can submit for three categories of funding: Sustaining Practice, New Projects, and Ongoing Platforms. Visual artists, independent curators, and collectives across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, and Plymouth counties are encouraged to apply. 

The current application cycle will be open through May 27, 2026. Please visit https://www.collectivefuturesfund.org/apply to learn more.

Learn more about CFF and other exciting opportunities for artists and cultural workers in upcoming information sessions this spring with partner organizations Boston Ujima Project on April 18 and Boston Public Art Triennial on May 13. Register your spot at collectivefuturesfund.org/events.