This Fall: Local Arts and Cultural Events in Boston and Beyond

After a day of training and honing their skills, North Bennet Street School (NBSS) students can catch a breather this fall by immersing themselves into the Boston area’s vibrant arts and culture scene. Whether viewing a famous Boston-born artist’s watercolors that are seeing the light of day for the first time in years, or trying one’s hand at Chinese brush painting, NBSS students have lots from which to choose. Here are just a handful of great options.

1. Fine furnishings and exquisite home goods take center stage in Providence, Rhode Island joined by our Cabinet & Furniture Making students who will exhibit at the 30th Fine Furnishings Show at the Waterfire Arts Center, Nov. 7-9.
2. For those who’d like to try their hand painting a New England staple, the PAO Arts Center offers “Chinese Brush Painting for Adults: Maple,” Nov. 22 from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. “A single, flowing stroke of ink captures the maple’s branching veins, where delicate leaves unfurl like quiet flames in the autumn wind,” the course description states. While the class is conducted in Mandarin, English language support is also provided. 
3. If gears are more your thing, check out the Waterworks Museum on Beacon Street described as being engineered to engage curious minds. Three, original, coal-powered, steam-driven water pumps are preserved here and are described as “monuments to 19th century technology and innovation.” Located in the Great Engines Hall, they reach more than three-stories tall. Visitors can take in the perfectly engineered parts that once pumped millions of gallons of freshwater a day into the city. 
4. American-born artist, Allan Rohan Crite, who documented the Black community in Boston’s South End and Roxbury, is also being featured at the Boston Athenaeum, “Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston,” opens Oct. 23 and offers visitors until Jan. 24, 2026 to see the exhibition. Crite’s career and legacy as a storyteller and “knowledge keeper” will be featured. 
5. Another notable event on the museum front is a rare treat for fans of Cambridge-raised artist Winslow Homer when the Museum of Fine Arts Boston exhibits fragile watercolors that have been protected from light for nearly 50 years. Dozens will be brought back into the galleries as “Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer in Watercolor” gets underway Nov. 2 through Jan. 19, 2026, alongside a selection of his oils, drawings, and prints. 
6. Whether a fan of them or not, clowns take center stage at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton with an exhibit featuring traditional glassblowing techniques, “Nancy Callan and Katherine Gray: The Clown in Me Loves You,” as a way for visitors to explore their own experiences with and reactions to these regulars found in parades and at parties. The glassblowing techniques are designed to spark our emotions and associations.
7. Finally, as proof that history is never far from one’s own front door, (especially ours, being that North Bennet Street School has been located in the North End since 1881, the nonprofit Boston By Foot, Inc., hosts the “North End: Boston’s Immigration Gateway Guided Walking Tour” from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, recurring weekly on Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

It’s clear that Boston is alive with creative energy this season, and NBSS students are right in the center of it all. Whether exploring a gallery, attending a festival, or joining a workshop, each experience deepens the connection between hands-on craft and the living culture of this city. Step out, get inspired, and bring a bit of that energy back to your own work.