Peabody Essex Museum

08/31/2026

This fall, we’re celebrating the Chuseok Festival, one of Korea’s most important cultural holidays, centered around the harvest, gratitude and family reunions.

On Saturday, September 26, explore traditional and contemporary expressions of Korean culture through storytelling, art making and a curator-led tour! This multigenerational celebration also welcomes first-time and returning visitors to PEM’s Korean Art gallery. We’re hosting a special PEM Pals program, a calligraphy demonstration, curator-led tours of our Korean Art gallery and more!

🗓️ See the full list of events here:

The Chuseok Festival celebrates one of Korea’s most important cultural holidays, centered around the harvest, gratitude and family reunions.

08/30/2026

This fall, you can enjoy our drop-in art making sessions in a new and bigger location!

In September and October, our weekly drop-in art making sessions will take place in the Main Atrium on Fridays from 3–4:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 1–3 pm. In September, make bug-themed prints on Fridays and create your own bat masks on Saturdays and Sundays. Then, in October, you can create your own miniature broomsticks or magic bottles! All art making sessions are included with museum admission.

📸: Ken Sawyer/PEM

08/29/2026

Today is the final day to watch our bootmaker in residence at work!

Throughout this summer, we’ve hosted artist Sarah Madeleine T. Guerin at our historic ten footer, the Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop. Guerin has been demonstrating her contemporary bootmaking techniques and leatherworking for visitors as part of Salem 400+. Check out her final day in our historic property from 11 am–6 pm. We encourage you to listen to Guerin’s interview in our recent PEMcast episode about Salem 400+.

📸 : Kathy Tarantola/PEM

08/28/2026

Join us for this year’s Preservation in a Changing Climate conference on Wednesday, September 23!
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Hosted by Salem Preservation in a Changing Climate Partners, this day of thought-provoking talks aims to advance strategies that can help reduce climate change and boost resiliency of historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods.
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Join for panel presentations and informational sessions at PEM throughout the day and a closing reception at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site Armory Visitor Center!⁠
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🗓️ See the full schedule of events and grab your tickets here: pem.org/events/preservation-in-a-changing-climate-conference-2026?date=2026-09-23&time=08:15

08/27/2026

Don’t miss your chance to explore “Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest” before it closes on Sunday, September 27! 🌲📚

This immersive exhibition in our Art & Nature Center invites you to discover the biodiversity and global importance of the boreal forest through first-person stories, interactive experiences and captivating photography.

🗓️ To celebrate the exhibition’s final weeks at PEM, we’re hosting a special pop-up display and book signing event on Saturday, September 5 at 10 am! Join wildlife artist and naturalist Rob Mullen for a signing of his newly released book, “Boreal Wilderland: Art, Science, and Adventure in Earth’s Greatest Wilderness.” Meet the author and explore an installation outside Morse Auditorium that features original artworks from the book by Mullen and other featured artists. This event is included with museum admission.

📸: © Tom Walker. All Rights Reserved.

08/25/2026

This coffee table created by is a perfect example of a functional sculpture.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Noguchi designed furnishings and products for mass production. He viewed these manufactured objects as works of art, bringing the same aesthetic ambition and commitment to originality to their design as he did to his sculptures. Some of Noguchi’s industrial designs, such as the IN-50 Coffee Table, are notable success stories; they demonstrate how Noguchi worked collaboratively with companies and craftspeople to create innovative, popular designs that placed functional art in our homes and everyday world.

🎟 Learn more and see this work for yourself in our exhibition “Isamu Noguchi: ‘I am not a designer,’” opening on Saturday, September 19.

This exhibition is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.

📸: Isamu Noguchi, Coffee Table, 1944, manufactured by Herman Miller, 1947-73, 1984-present. Wood, plate glass. The Noguchi Museum Archives, 153656. Photo by Kevin Noble. © 2026 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

08/24/2026

Have you ever wondered what’s inside our Gardner-Pingree House? 🤔

PEM offers the only Salem walking tours that bring you into this Federal-style mansion to learn about its architectural details and dark history, including the infamous murder of Captain Joseph White. Step inside on your next visit to Salem and learn more at pem.org/tours

08/23/2026

Create your own mixed-media collage during our upcoming Studio Saturdays program!

Our next art-making session for adults takes place on Saturday, September 12 from 10:30 am–noon. During this community-focused gathering, draw inspiration from patterns found in leaves, seeds, flowers and other treasures to create mandala-inspired artwork that celebrates the beauty and balance of the natural world.

🎟️ Grab your tickets today at pem.org/events/studio-saturdays-natures-abundance-collages?date=2026-09-12&time=10:30

08/22/2026

Catch some late summer sun in our museum garden! ☀️

This tranquil garden, tucked away in our main museum building, is a perfect spot to visit when you need a moment of relaxation and solitude. Just off of our Garden Atrium, this 5,000-square-foot garden was designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and features an 11-foot cascading water feature surrounded by native and imported varieties of shrubs, trees and flowers. Stop by during your next visit to PEM!

📸: Bob Packert/PEM

08/21/2026

🦇Join us at our Ropes Mansion Garden to learn all about bats while creating your own bat house!

On Saturday, September 12 at 2 pm, join bat biologist and educator Maria Armour for a hands-on workshop where you'll construct a bat house while learning fascinating facts about bats in Massachusetts and around the world. No woodworking experience is required, and all materials and instructions will be provided!

🎟️ Register today at pem.org/events/bat-house-making-at-ropes-mansion-garden?date=2026-09-12&time=02:00. The group registration fee includes everything you’ll need for a group of up to four people to build one single-chamber bat house, which can provide summer shelter for a small colony of local bats.

📸: Kathy Tarantola/PEM