Museum of Fine Arts opens its doors for Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration

Thousands gathered at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, or MFA, Jan. 19 to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a full day of art, performances and activities. 

MFA’s 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day open house included an interactive Black history lesson and performance, drop-in mixed media art-making, several spotlight talks from Boston community leaders, guided tours and more. For the first time in the event’s history, it was free to Massachusetts residents.

Music filled the halls, with performances from groups such as ZUMiX, a nonprofit that seeks to build community through music, and Living Water, a gospel group dedicated to empowering the Boston community and spreading a message of faith. 

ZuKix, a youth ensemble collaborating with ZUMiX, also had members in the performance. Kiana Angulo and Emilia Montoya, singers with ZuKix, said their performance aimed to give voice to Black and brown youth in the community.  

“These times are getting really hard, and I feel like music can bring a lot of people together,” Angulo said. 

“I feel like when we play music, we give people a community,” Montoya said. “They can come and feel safe and have fun and really just enjoy the arts.”

Several other nonprofit groups that partnered with the MFA also showcased their work, including ArtSpark Boston, a music and arts organization that hosts classes and events dedicated to providing resources for artists of color in Greater Boston. 

“[Martin Luther King Jr.] Day is honestly the most special event that we get to do all year,” said ArtSpark Founder and Executive Director Ava Dudani. “We are just so grateful for the opportunity to come and honor the legacy of Martin Luther King [Jr.], especially during these times that are difficult for specifically Black and brown communities.”

The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth, or BAGLY, also shared information about its mission to help LGBTQ+ youth take action in their communities and promote well-being. 

“It’s been a lot of fun. I feel like we’re connecting with a really large group of visitors,” BAGLY Outreach Specialist Sam Bruetsch said, describing his first time staffing a table at the event.“I haven’t been in an event with such a diverse audience as the MFA.” 

Among the performances was “A Little History,” an interactive experience presented by Castle of Our Skins, a Black arts institution dedicated to uplifting Black artistry. The performance aimed to educate and entertain through poetry accompanied by music. Caden Burston, a musician with Castle of Our Skins, led the audience of about 40 people through the history of five influential Black figures, incorporating audience participation into the piece.

Burston encouraged audience members to participate through keeping the beat by clapping, rubbing their hands together and reading quotes from the featured historical figures aloud.

“I love when people can build in music or other pieces into presentations,” said Lily Fanburg, a graduate from Bowdoin College and researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who decided to come to the MFA on her day off. 

“I always think that’s more entertaining [when the audience is involved],” said Hattie Slayton, a friend of Fanburg’s who also graduated from Bowdoin College and works as a researcher at Boston University. “I feel like that’s something that you often do with kids — have the audience be very integral to the performance — and it’s something that you don’t get the chance to do as an adult very much, so it was fun.”

Some of the other activities also appealed to younger children, aiming to teach them about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through activities like mixed-media art-making on their day off from school. Boston resident Sabriya Stewart brought her son, who enthusiastically participated in the activities.

“It’s important to me to expose my son to particularly African history,” Stewart said. “It’s great to see the community coming together. It’s been fun.”