Past Events

The GBH studio at the BPL is hosting Outspoken Saturdays, a spoken word poetry event for emerging artists. Every first Saturday of the month, the series will be created in collaboration with spoken word artist Amanda Shea. Join us!

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

Photo Credit: GBH

Juan Nieves keeps the folkloric Puetro Rican musical tradition alive. His cuatro, the national instrument of Puerto Rico, has accompanied him in more than 15 countries worldwide. Throughout his 24-year career, Juan has produced three albums and many singles. His music has been featured in various films, and he has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Tony Succar, and more. Juan is the fifth cuatro player to graduate from Berklee College of Music. Juan leads his own projects, “Juan Nieves & Legado Orchestra” and “Legado Records.”


Come join us for an evening of music, wine, and food.


Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Following the most bizarre climatic summer on record, Cambridge Forum starts its new season by considering what our uncertain future holds, in a new series: “Living on Borrowed Time”. In this first program, Cambridge Forum talks to Jeff Goodell, NY bestselling author and contributing editor at Rolling Stone; and Dr. Mike Flannigan, Research Chair for Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science at Thompson Rivers University and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science.

Goodell has covered climate change for more than two decades for Rolling Stone. His latest book, “The Heat will Kill You First” presents a searing examination of the impact that rising temperatures will have on our lives and on our planet.

Dr. Flannigan has been studying fire and weather/climate interactions including the potential impact of climatic change and lightning-ignited forest fires for over 40 years.

Join this important discussion in our Zoom webinar and don’t forget to tell your friends – your future may depend upon it.

Gaby Cotter is a Boston-based Panamanian singer, songwriter, and educator. Her work mixes the different colors of Latin-American sounds with jazz, blues, pop, and R&B. Her powerful interpretive ability fascinates even the most knowledgeable listener. Beyond a musical genre, she is moved by words, creating the perfect momentum to tell stories one song at a time.

Join us for an evening of music, wine, and food.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Photo credit: Valeria Lam

Join James “Jimmy” Hills, host of the Dorchester-based online show Java with Jimmy, for a special “brew” of his show with a live audience at the GBH Studio in the Boston Public Library.

As August comes to a close, Jimmy will mark Black Business Month with a conversation recognizing the work of local Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

Jimmy welcomes Errin Davis, COO of The Davis System, Daniel Laurent, CEO & founder of the Black Dollar U.S, and Malia Lazu, founder of The Urban Labs. These three visionary leaders are making a significant impact within Boston’s Black business community and beyond.

They will talk about their personal journeys, triumphs, and the impact of their organizations, as well as the challenges faced by Black business owners. Together they will explore some of their innovative solutions.

Errin Davis has played a crucial role in ensuring that community remains at the core of The Davis System. Daniel Laurent has revolutionized the way consumers can discover and support Black-owned businesses across the country. Malia Lazu's pioneering efforts with The Urban Labs have empowered communities by promoting social justice, education, and sustainable economic development.

The dramatic and uplifting story of legendary outdoorsman and conservationist JohnMuir’s quest to protect one of America’s most magnificent landscapes, Yosemite.

“Everybody needs beauty, as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” —John Muir

In this portrait of a place, a time, and a movement, the bestselling author Dean King takes us behind the scenes, to the beginning of America’s love affair with Yosemite Valley. In June of 1889 in San Francisco, John Muir—iconic environmentalist, writer, and philosopher—met face-to-face with his longtime editor Robert Underwood Johnson, an elegant and influential figure at The Century magazine. Before long, the pair ventured to Yosemite Valley, the magnificent site Muir had visited twenty years earlier. There, they confronted a shocking vision, as predatory mining, tourism, and logging industries had plundered and defaced “the grandest of all the special temples of Nature.” The rest is history: that watershed moment led to the creation of Yosemite National Park, and launched an environmental battle that at once captivated the nation and ushered in the beginning of the American environmental movement. Join us for King’s illustrated presentation of his riveting new book, Guardians of the Valley, “a rich, enjoyable excursion into a seminal period in environmental history.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Watch episodes of Arthur and learn about the importance of accessibility from a few of his friends! GBH is on the frontline on creating content for disabled kids and their family. Learn about GBH’s mission of inclusivity and accessibility.

Registration is appreciated but not required for this free event.

Photo credit: GBH

A Detroit native, Nina Ott grew up surrounded by music. She loved singing in choirs and playing the piano, a passion which has never left her. Nina trained classically as a pianist before dedicating herself to jazz and improvisation. Her love for music took her across the country. Nina attended live shows in Boston and NYC before eventually moving to Chicago and later Providence, where she had the opportunity to learn more about Latin Jazz and Salsa.

Come join us for an evening of jazz, wine, and food.

This in-person event will begin at 6pm ET.

Photo Credit: Chris Lopes

Join American Ancestors for a shimmering discussion about artists and their summer communities, the “utopias” they created for their friends, families, and students during the first half of the twentieth century on Cape Ann and Cape Cod.

Their names are iconic: Edward Hopper, Charles Hawthorne, Hans Hoffman, Willem de Kooning, Josef and Anni Albers, and Walter Gropius. The artist residents of summertime seashore communities hold a special place in America’s history. To this day, in private collections, museums, and galleries, they portray our country in transition in the last century, its welcoming light and obscuring shadows, burgeoning with industrial and political power.

Join John Taylor “Ike” Williams and Elliot Bostwick Davis for a discussion of their new books looking at the vision and ascendancy of several celebrated artists associated with summer colonies and communities. Our presenters will spotlight individual paintings and measure the cultural impact and their creators who, imbued with summertime spirit and sensitivity, became our country’s cultural luminaries. Don’t miss these authors’ insights on Cape Ann and Cape Cod as it was experienced and represented by its artists, and the lasting impact of their work.

Join us for a shimmering discussion about artists and their summer communities, the “utopias” they created for their friends, families, and students during the first half of the twentieth century on Cape Ann and Cape Cod.

Presented by the American Inspiration series from American Ancestors/NEHGS in partnership with the Cape Ann Museum and Provincetown Arts Association and Museum.

Dr. Ousmane Pame is founder of REDES Ecovillages based in Senegal. He talka about ecovillage communities in the Sahel region of Africa. and their global and regional contexts. The Sahel region includes Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Gambia. REDES is the leading, nonprofit, community-led regenerative organization in the fight against desertification and its negative socioeconomic impacts in the Senegal River Valley. REDES is catalyzing efforts and initiatives on both sides of River Senegal, which is the border between Senegal and Mauritania, to regenerate the ecosystems and improve community life in the region. There are now 100 ecovillages in the area. Dr Pame ia joined by Dr. Marie Nazon, Academic Programs Coordinator for REDES International Service Learning Program and Katrina Jeffries, International relations coordinator. Dr. Dave Damm Luhr moderates the conversation.