Emerson Contemporary

Emerson Contemporary is the Emerson College’s platform for showcasing contemporary visual art. It is focused on presenting living artists, their ideas, experiments, and creative practices in the areas of media art, performance art, and emergent technologies, while critically examining these works in their social context

The in-depth engagement with the temporary exhibitions and related public programming is based on the principle that artistic practice is an intellectual activity and works of art are a form of knowledge production.

Emerson Contemporary amplifies the voices of living artists, creative changemakers, and technologists who broaden how we understand our present moment and help us reimagine what is possible. We encourage experimentation, commission new works, and support artistic research. Our curatorial programming frequently showcases historically underrepresented artists in the digital and new media art field, including women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ artists. In support of this mission, we actively create opportunities for working artists to engage with new technologies, software tools, creative technologists, and the staff and faculty expertise on our campus that are otherwise less accessible.

We are proud to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture Program, in collaboration with the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program, and the Mass Health Connector by breaking down financial barriers to participation in cultural programming. See the complete list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.

Emerson Contemporary consists of the Media Art Gallery, Huret & Spector Gallery, Public Programs, Art on Campus and Public Art. 

All our programming is free and open to the public.