Play Date: Crafting A Narrative

Join for a day of family fun! Explore different ways of telling a story through artmaking, music, and performance. Reserve free admission tickets online in advance*. All activities are drop-in, first come first served, space is limited.

*On Saturday, September 30, museum admission is FREE for families when accompanied by kids ages 12 and under, with up to 2 adults per family. Tickets must be reserved online in advance. Use the code PLAYDATE when reserving your ticket(s). Advance tickets are strongly recommended; day-of tickets are not guaranteed.

Program

What’s your Uh-Oh or Yippee moment? With Jo Ham | 10 AM–3 PM

Art Lab, 1st Floor

Enter the world of Jo Ham’s dynamic character Rabbit by choosing your favorite Rabbit print (selection to be supplied) and letting your imagination create the wider story to make their own Yippee or Uh-Oh moment! Landscapes, room sets, new characters, colorful props and more can all be added using paint, pens, stickers and craft materials, with help on hand from the HAM team. While supplies last.

Book Signing with Jo Ham | 3–4 PM

Art Lab, 1st Floor

Meet beloved illustrator, artist, and now author Jo Ham, and get your copies of her new children’s books Yippee! Rabbit and Uh Oh! Rabbit! signed! Copies of the books and other HAM selects will be available to be purchased on site — including a special limited edition print to celebrate the occasion, only available at the ICA Store!

Musical Storytelling with The Rubin Brothers | 11 AM-12 PM

Outdoors, Grandstand + Plaza

Circus musicians, vaudeville entertainers, and real-life brothers AJ & Colescott present an all-ages show of interactive musical storytelling, complete with acrobatics, unicycling, juggling, and unbridled silliness!

Books + Looks | 10:30 AM + 12:30 PM

4th Floor, Mediatheque

Join for a staff led reading of family-friendly storybooks and make connections to artworks on view. Drop-in, first come, first serve, space is limited.

In the Galleries, 10 AM–5 PM

4th Floor, Galleries

Our Visitor Assistants (VA) are always eager to talk about the artworks and answer your questions. Pick up a gallery game card to explore the museum as a “Thinker, Maker, Explorer, or Performer”. Great for a variety of ages and for intergenerational audiences to play together. Cards are available on the 1st and 4th floor near the elevators. Questions? Ask a VA on the 4th floor. Only #2 pencils allowed in the galleries.

About Jo Ham

Jo Ham graduated from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, where she gained a degree in fine art with a focus on anatomy. In 2011, she formed her studio—HAM, developing bespoke products and artwork for global brands, creating large-scale installations, and raising funds and awareness for charity. Informed by her studies and early career in design, Jo has always been fascinated by popular culture and uses Rabbit to shine a light on life’s simple pleasures—in particular how we interact with one another through work and play. The resulting social commentary creates Rabbit’s happy world, where our daily rituals, likes, and hobbies are immortalized in print for all to enjoy. In 2018, Jo was awarded the Aviva Women of the Future Arts and Culture Prize and the NatWest Great British Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year. Jo’s work can be found online at hammade.com and on Instagram at @HamJoanna.

About the Rubin Brothers

AJ and Colescott Rubin are Boston-based circus musicians & vaudeville entertainers who lift spirits and make smiles wherever they go, performing swing & popular songs of yesteryear with a lighthearted energy and danceable beat. Known internationally for their unicycling, juggling, & acrobatics while playing instruments, they play sold out shows from coast to coast. They have performed and/or recorded with Esperanza Spalding, Old Crow Medicine Show, Patrice Rushen, Catherine Russell, Charmaine Neville, & John Legend, and around the world in New Orleans, Iceland, Moscow, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and elsewhere. Student and staff at Berklee College of Music, respectively, they are recipients of the 2021 City of Boston Opportunity Fund Award, and recently made their debut recording on all pre-1930s recording equipment in NYC. They play stadium halftime shows as the house brass band for the major league rugby team of New England and make their circus debut September 2023 in NYC.

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Free Admission for Youth

Youth 18 and under always receive FREE museum admission. The ICA is committed to providing access to the art and artists of our time—and we do this with the incredible support of our community. Explore the +1 Membership — A free ICA membership program for youth 0-18.

Questions? Reach us at familyprograms@icaboston.org.