Programming at Calder Gardens
Calder Gardens celebrates the art, experimental spirit, and innovative approach to form, movement, and material of Alexander Calder. With a diverse range of public programs, Calder Gardens extends the legacy of Calder through contemporary experiences and art commissions. Led by Juana Berrío, the Marsha Perelman Senior Director of Programs, these cross-disciplinary programs invite artists, cultural producers, and audiences to encounter Calder Gardens as a living space for exchange, reflection, and transformation. Concerts, lectures, screenings, performances, readings, and mindfulness practices create new understandings for the mind, body, and spirit.
Recurring Series
Artists as Gardens is a series that commissions established contemporary artists, working across a wide range of disciplines, to think of their practice as a garden that changes with the seasons and other natural cycles. Over an extended period, artists conceive a series of time-based programs such as performances, healing practices, screenings, and workshops, working in collaboration with local communities. Just as gardens invite us to notice how nature transforms itself while responding to different seasons, these artists explore new and evolving ideas aligned with their own rhythms and cycles.
The 2026–28 cohort of artists includes Guadalupe Maravilla, Gryphon Rue, Cecilia Vicuña, Raven Chacon, Juliana Huxtable, Simone White, and Colin Self.
Listening Circles take inspiration from Indigenous círculos de la palabra, creating a space for dialogue, attentiveness, and shared reflection. Guided by Denise Dunkley, master artisan and educator of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, each session begins with a thematic story and includes contributions from elders and leaders of Indigenous communities. The series fosters deep listening, intergenerational exchange, and the sharing of lived experiences across cultures. Listening Circles take place four times per year with the change of seasons.
The Moon Alignment series is an after-hours contemplative practice taking place each month during the new and full moons. The alignment of the sun, moon, and earth mark rhythmic interplay and a unique opportunity to contemplate motion and stillness in relationship with our closest celestial neighbors. Each session opens with a brief discussion, followed by walking meditation, silent meditation, and closing reflections, led by Calder Gardens Contemplative Arts Fellow Isha Strasser.
People Talking is a series of conversations exploring themes central to Calder Gardens and contemporary culture, emphasizing storytelling and interdisciplinary exchange. Led by artists, cultural producers, and scientists, each program reflects Calder’s experimental ethos, nuanced understandings of movement and transformation, and innovative approaches to engaging with the environment today.
Pictures in Motion is a film and video art series that screens experimental cinema and artist films from documentaries to time-based media, organized around themes that reflect Calder Gardens’ broader curatorial focus on motion, time, and sound.
Silent Days encourages the visitor to slow down, turn inward, and experience quiet attention. Taking place on the fourth Wednesday of every month from 3 to 7 pm, Silent Days offers full access to the galleries and gardens dedicated to silence and sensory awareness with a reduced-audience capacity. We invite participants to experience silence as an enriching opportunity to engage with the world in an intentional and attentive way—an open field for noticing, listening, and being present.