By Katie Koenig
Living in the heart of Boston, there are so many things to do that I, at least, get overwhelmed with all the possibilities. Museums, however, are a weakness of mine, so throughout the semester as I go to museums, you might want to join!
I live on campus, which is right next to the Green Line, so I’d thought I would go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum first—which was a vast overestimation of my free time. I love going out with friends, so I had to postpone that museum trip in favor of a trip to Salem the other week.
I certainly can’t complain since Salem is gorgeous around this time of year, and I still got in a museum trip anyway! I didn’t know it until I first arrived, but the Peabody Essex Museum is incredibly easy to reach from the commuter rail. There are signs pointing you directly there once you leave the station.
I’d gotten there early with part of my whole group, the other half planning on coming later in the afternoon. We decided to spend our time at the museum, since it had started raining. Tickets were incredibly easy to get, only $15 with a student ID on hand, and even though we didn’t get additional tickets to the specialty exhibitions that were open, there was still enough to see to fill several hours of time.
The first place we went to was the “Ballroom” exhibit. It wasn’t about dancing, contrary to my first expectations. It actually was an interactive exhibit with literal globes available to (gently!) push around on the ground, with map recreations projected on a wall.
The artist, Agustina Woodgate, had sanded the map designs off of all of the world globes, like the kind you find in school classrooms, and presented a whole room of worlds without borders. The PEM website explains in more detail, but I always enjoy an interactive exhibit, and this one was particularly interesting.
Snaking our way through the different exhibit rooms, I did get lost several times since I was too busy looking at all of the different historical artifacts available. Many of the rooms are asymmetrical or guide you in a winding path, rather than a straightforward gridlike pattern of rooms.
I loved it for the same reason I love the Gardner Museum; even when I backtracked to an old room, it felt like there was always another exit I had missed leading to another fascinating exhibit, whether one on glass art, or exploring a traditional Scottish ballad through song.
The best part for me, though, was Anila Quayyum Agha’s exhibit “All the Flowers Are for Me.” It’s a light-based exhibit where a bright lamp inside a decorative metal cage casts shadows on all walls, floor, and ceiling of a bare, cream room. The shadow designs are floral with organic swirls and patterns, organized in concentric circles of expanding motifs.
Agha created this intricate light exhibit to reflect her complex experiences and feelings while growing up in Pakistan and now living in Indiana. The designs are inspired by Medieval Persian and Turkish art and textiles, and Agha’s creation emphasizes how women can create safe, private spaces, hence the cage, and expand them to welcome others, like how the light fixture casts massive shadows into the room.
The total cost was $25 to get in, since the student discount is $15, plus the $10 weekend commuter rail pass. A normal adult ticket costs $25 by itself, so it’s somewhat pricey to get to if you’re established in Boston. If you’re already planning on visiting Salem, though, or if you’re in the area, definitely check out the museum! And if you go and love it, you can become a member for $75 per year, which gets you unlimited access.