View Livestream here.

In this hybrid, bilingual symposium hosted by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in English and French, students, scholars, and alumni around the world will extend Wellesley’s legacy of learning directly from works of art. Held in Tishman Commons and live-streamed, the symposium will propose new strategies for the ethical stewardship of artworks collected by the College since 1875. In collaboration with the Wellesley Club of France, Centre International de Recherches André Malraux, Pluralism Initiative, French House, and French, Francophone, and Italian Studies Department, the symposium pays special attention to the influence of novelist, politician, and cultural critic André Malraux on Wellesley’s museum in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Learn more about the event here: Imagining Museums Symposium 2026

This symposium is supported by the Mary Hammond Norton ‘54 Endowed Fund for the Davis Museum and co-sponsored by the Pluralism Initiative, French House, Art Department, Religion Department, Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, and Africana Studies.

View Livestream here.

The Davis Museum Student Advisory Committee (DMSAC) invites all Wellesley students to a special after-hours event, Davis After Dark: Masks and Mystery. We will connect guests to art through activities and performances exploring global traditions, music, and craft in a masquerade style event.

We invite Wellesley students to dress up, decorate unique masks, and enjoy a night of celebration! Light refreshments will be served. 

This program is generously supported by the Wellesley College Friends of Art.

This event brings together the Book Arts Lab Papermaking Studio, Paulson Initiative, and Davis Museum. During a tour of The Immortal Magu: A Sixteenth Century Painting Up Close, Dr. Yuhua Ding, Kemper Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Affairs, will discuss how different papers are used in Chinese painting conservation. Next, Dr. Katherine Ruffin, Director of the Book Studies Program and Lecturer in Art at Wellesley College, will guide you through making your own paper using Phragmites gathered from the Wellesley College landscape.

Limited to 15 spots

Register here

This program is co-sponsored by the Book Arts Lab Papermaking Studio, the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative, and the Davis Museum.

In this hybrid, bilingual symposium hosted by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in English and French, students, scholars, and alumni around the world will extend Wellesley’s legacy of learning directly from works of art. Held in Tishman Commons and live-streamed, the symposium will propose new strategies for the ethical stewardship of artworks collected by the College since 1875. In collaboration with the Wellesley Club of France, Centre International de Recherches André Malraux, Pluralism Initiative, French House, and French, Francophone, and Italian Studies Department, the symposium pays special attention to the influence of novelist, politician, and cultural critic André Malraux on Wellesley’s museum in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Register here to attend in person: Day One, March 26, 2026

Register here to attend in person: Day Two, March 27, 2026

Register here to attend panels via livestream.

Learn more about the event here: Imagining Museums Symposium 2026

This symposium is supported by the Mary Hammond Norton ‘54 Endowed Fund for the Davis Museum and co-sponsored by the Pluralism Initiative, French House, Art Department, Religion Department, Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, and Africana Studies.

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Coffee, Tishman Commons

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Opening Remarks, Tishman Commons

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Session One: Imagination at Non-Imaginary Museums, in collaboration with the Art Department, Tishman Commons

Chair: 

David Teng Olsen, Art Department, Wellesley College

Panelists: 

Semente, Davis Museum at Wellesley College

Hannah Goodwin, Institute for Human Centered Design

Theodore Ducas, Physics Department, Wellesley College

Sara Brown, Wellesley College Class of 2025

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM: Lunch Break 

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Session Two: Malraux in 2175, in collaboration with the Centre International de Recherches André Malraux, Wellesley French House, and Wellesley French, Francophone, and Italian Studies Department, Tishman Commons

Chair: Venita Datta, French and Francophone Studies, Wellesley College

Panelists: 

Michaël de Saint Cheron, Centre international de recherches André Malraux

Recommended reading: 

Andre Malraux, Museum Without Walls (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1967)

3:00 PM: Tours and Discussions in the Galleries, Davis Museum

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Reception, Tishman Commons

4:15 PM: Brief Remarks Celebrating Wellesley’s 150th Anniversary, Tishman Commons

Speaker: Courtney C. Coile, Office of the Provost, Wellesley College 

Left: Gallery, Wellesley College Farnsworth Art Museum, undated, Courtesy of Wellesley College Archives; Right: Dorothy Johnston Towne Gallery, Davis Museum at Wellesley College 2016, Courtesy of the Davis Museum at Wellesley College.

*SOLD OUT*

Join Wellesley Magazine Editor Lisa Scanlon Mogolov ‘99 and Interim Co-Director Amanda Gilvin for a nostalgic visit to Wellesley’s past in a tour of Only To Be There: Student Traditions at Wellesley. 

Limited to 20 people

Free and open to the public

Registion is closed.

This program is generously supported by the Constance Rhind Robey ‘81 Fund for Museum Exhibitions.

*SOLD OUT*

Join Dr. Yuhua Ding, Kemper Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Affairs, to learn about the Taoist deity Magu, Mount Magu, and Magu wine. You will also get to explore the art of conserving and mounting Chinese paintings.

Limited to 20 people

Free and open to the public

Registion Closed.

This program is supported by the Kathryn Wasserman Davis ‘28 Fund for World Cultures and Leadership and Wellesley College Friends of Art at the Davis.

At this event hosted by Dr. Semente and the Davis Museum Student Advisory Committee, you can enjoy deep breathing, light yoga, and mindful reflection in the Suzanne Ciani: Sound Lounge for an afternoon wellness break in the Museum.

Limited to 15 spots

Register here 

Are you interested in a summer internship at the Davis Museum? Meet with Dr. Semente, Curator of Education and Public Programs, Davis Museum staff, and Dr. Lorraine Hanley ‘98, Director of Wellesley-funded Internships at Career Education to learn more about this Wellesley sponsored internship.

This program is generously sponsored by Wellesley College Friends of Art.

The Davis Museum is closed for Wellesley College's winter break from Tuesday, December 16, 2025 through Friday, February 6, 2026. We wish you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season. 

More information about our opening celebration and spring 2026 events will be posted in January 2026.

Please join us on Thursday, February 5 at 4 PM for our spring opening celebration.

Designed by Wellesley students from a range of academic majors, thematic tours of special exhibitions and permanent collections led by a Student Guide are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. For a full schedule of tours, please visit https://www1.wellesley.edu/davismuseum/events/upcoming. 

This program is generously supported by the Elizabeth Bein Keto '48 Endowed Memorial Art Fund.