Photo by Melissa Blackall | Cedric Harper: ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE, Mills Gallery, 2023

Exhibitions

The Mills Gallery has been showing contemporary artists and curators from Boston and beyond since the mid-1970s. The Mills Gallery supports innovative exhibitions that connect artists with the community, peers, and resources providing a vibrant platform for new art in Boston.
The Mills also presents signature exhibitions such as the Drawing Show and the Project Room Exhibition Series which features work by BCA Studio Residents who are part of a three-year residency in our Artist Studios Building.

Open Call for Exhibitions

All exhibitions are selected through an Open Call process. Applications are reviewed by an external jury. Everyone is welcome to apply within the parameters of the exhibitions we are programming.

Applications for 2024–2025 are now closed.

 

VISIT

551 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
Wednesday – Saturday
1pm – 6pm

Please note: The gallery is closed in between exhibitions and on holidays. Please check the dates of the current exhibitions below.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Recent Exhibitions

2022–2023 Exhibitions

Brooke Stewart: BAD MATH (2023)Project Room No. 5: Szu-Chieh Yun (2023)Cedric Harper: ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE (2023)Project Room No.4: Chick Byrne (2023)Mimi Bai: Hide and See (2022)Project Room No. 3: Nathan Heilman (2022)

2020–2022 Exhibitions

Anukriti: A Temple for Timeless Beasts (2022)Project Room No. 2: Azadeh Tajpour (2022)M'Kenzy Cannon: PLEASE LET ME IN (2022)Project Room No. 1: Karmimadeebora McMillan (2022)SNAPSHOT: BCA Studio Resident Pop-up Exhibition (2022)Mary Ellen Strom and Danielle Abrams – Rights Along the Shore (2022)Raafat Majzoub: GROUNDS (2022)Mithsuca Berry: The Sun Knows No Impostor (2021)Catalina Schliebener: Growing Sideways (2021)Feminist Futurist (2020)

Exhibitions Archive

About Mills Gallery Exhibitions

Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) introduces a collaborative exhibition-making mode​l that focuses on innovative solo shows created collaboratively between​ one artist and one curator, presented​ in the BCA Mills Gallery.​ In addition, curators and artists selected for upcoming projects are provided with 10–12 weeks of studio space in BCA Artist Studios Building, to develop their project in close proximity to the gallery.

The opportunity to use studio space at BCA provides the curator and artist with space not only to develop their exhibition, but also to engage them in ongoing conversations about their project with staff, BCA studio residents, and the local community.

In addition to studio space, the selected artists and curators receive: an honorarium​; logistical, critical, and practical assistance​; funds and resources to produce ​their 12-week​ exhibition​ in the Mills Gallery; and support for exhibition-related public programming. An internal and external jury select exhibitions that align with our mission and that are experimental, responsive, engaged, and impactful. Read more of our Artistic Ethos here.

The Gallery also presents ongoing signature exhibitions such as the Drawing Show and other special exhibitions.

Since 2009, this acclaimed exhibition program has involved external curators for each exhibition, showcasing projects by over 50 esteemed curators, having shown work by over 500 artists at all stages of their careers.

During its 50-plus years Boston Center for the Arts has hosted numerous exhibitions, including by Derrick Adams, Judy Chicago, William Cordova, Martin Creed, Dirt Palace, Jeff Huckleberry, James Montford, Liliana Porter, Javier Tellez, and Anna Von Mertens. Visual artists who have exhibited recently at Boston Center for the Arts include Catalina Schliebener, Mithsuca Berry, Raafat Majzoub, Mimi Bai, Cedric Harper, and Brooke Stewart.

About the Space

The Mills Gallery is a 1,800-square-foot flexible open-plan layout.

Click here to view the Mills Gallery Floorplan.