Students flooded through the towering glass doors of the McMullen Museum of Art on Friday, ready for a night of art, culture, and music. The McMullen’s biannual “Art After Dark” event welcomed hundreds of students for a night of immersion in Italian culture, turning the museum into a vibrant space bursting with opportunities to engage with art in a myriad of interactive ways.
Sexual Chocolate, Boston College’s all-male step team, opened the night with a rousing performance, followed by a cappella groups The Dynamics and The Acoustics. The Music Guild closed out the night with an open mic featuring a lineup of independent artists and passionate students.
The first floor featured the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection, which is on permanent display. Students were treated to an array of authentic Italian treats, including charcuterie, cheese arancini, Italian sausage, and cannolis. Screens in another room played In the Heart of the Sea and Moby Dick, intended to further immerse students in the exhibit. Tables were also set with Italian card games.
The back lawn of the McMullen hosted a spread of games—painting matching, archery, giant Jenga, to name a few—so students could enjoy the nice weather and watch the sun behind the facade of the museum.
“I come every semester, and it’s always a highlight,” says Grace Wilde, MCAS ’26. “I’m just so impressed every time.”
The second floor offered a quieter yet similarly bustling area to experience and enjoy art. Upon entering the gallery, viewers were greeted with the first of the McMullen’s new exhibits: Medieval | Renaissance: A Dialogue on Early Italian Painting. Pieces from the Frascione Collection in Florence adorned the walls, featuring “devotional icons, altarpiece panels, narrative scenes, and portraits” from the early Renaissance period in Italy.
Those looking for more natural views could head further into the gallery to view the second exhibition on the floor, titled A Fresh Vision: Landscape Painting in Belgium after Romanticism.
The 36-piece donation from the School of Tervuren recently established the McMullen Museum as the home of the leading collection of 19th-century Belgian landscape paintings in North America. The collection heavily features “quiet forests and fields” from outside Brussels.
Throughout the gallery, large tables held materials for students to make framed mosaics from pieces of glass. Another table offered wool to make felted whales in honor of Moby Dick. Each area was packed the entire night.
“I usually try to put together two or three hands-on activities,” said Rachel Chamberlain, assistant director of learning, community engagement, and digital initiatives. “It’s just thinking about activating the whole museum, and … finding different ways into the collections and exhibitions that we have on display.”
The third floor offered a tranquil space where students could view an exhibition titled Martin Karplus: Moments and Monuments. This collection of photographs displays scenes across Europe and the Americas in the 1950s and 1960s. Guests also had the opportunity to design gold-leaf notebooks.
With light and music flooding out of every door and window, the McMullen was able to declare the evening another smashing success, bringing students together to appreciate all kinds of art. The event continues to mark the museum as a place of exploration and creativity, highlighting art, joy, and belonging in the BC community. Medieval | Renaissance and A Fresh Vision will be on display until Dec. 7.
