American values take shape in the objects we make, desire, cherish, and discard. A table laden with ripe fruit, a meal served up at a luncheonette, the inside of a medicine cabinet—ordinary materials around us chronicle our lives. The still life, a genre of art that dates back to the ancient world, captures those objects of everyday life while often conveying deeper meanings and hidden messages.

On view this spring in the museum's community gallery, the Gallery Obscura, are photographs and writings by members of the 2025–2026 Studio 678 Photo Club at the Flower City Arts Center, reflecting the students’ unique visions of the world around them.

In the Project Gallery, the interrelated series Patterns and Fabrications show Baum's recent explorations of the visual and material culture of fashion and craft. In Patterns, the artist activates the lines, forms, patterns, colors, and texts found in the abstract world of mid-century sewing patterns. Fabrications continues from Patterns by opening into a broader visual culture of magazines, catalogs, and books related to fashion and craft, as well as the advertisements and coupons found within. Together, these series reframe the domestic imaginary present in the printed materials Baum recontextualizes. Engaging in textual and visual play, Baum invites us to experience what was once familiar in unexpected new ways.

Highlighting three significant prints—Portrait of a Young Woman after Cranach the Younger II, Pique II, and Bacchanal with Kid Goat and Onlooker—along with their various proofs, Picasso and the Progressive Proof: Linocuts from a Private Collection is an intimate exhibition that reveals how these works and subjects developed in the latter part of his career and his groundbreaking contributions to the medium.

Opening Friday, May 8 and continuing Thursdays - Sundays through May 24: The acclaimed Tony-Award winning musical based on the real-life 1914 trial of Leo Frank. Alfred Uhry’s award-winning book and Jason Robert Brown’s rousing, colorful and haunting score illuminate a circus of conflicting accounts, false testimony and mishandled evidence in a country reeling with racial tension and sensationalized media.

Step back in time as you cruise along the historic Erie Canal. Live narration brings to life the bold vision that transformed a hare-brained idea into an engineering marvel that opened the American West. Travel through a working lock, soak in the scenery, and relax as history unfolds around you.

You've seen these iconic films based on musicals before; hear the music live with your Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra!

Interested in climbing and don’t know where to start?! No problem, we’ve got you covered. Enjoy a custom climbing experience with a CRG Team Member!

Saturday, May 23, 2026, 7:30 AM -12:00 PM, Powder Mills Park in Pittsford: Powder Mills Park is a mature woodland and wetland park that can be productive for many late-migrating or nesting species. In recent years, Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Red-tailed Hawks have all nested there. We will spend time around the hatchery, then drive to and walk the Daffodil Meadow trail (less than 2 miles total).

Savor the lush landscapes of the Genesee River as you cruise south past the University of Rochester, through Genesee Valley Park, and onto the Erie Canal. As you relax on the water, live narration will reveal the stories of how these historic waterways shaped our community. Your journey ends with a spectacular view of Rochester’s skyline as you’ve never seen it. Lunch is optional.

Until photographic processes were introduced during the last decade of the 19th Century, illustrations were printed from copper or wood engravings. In this workshop, participants will gain understanding of the process of carving and printing a simple design. To help ensure success for inexperienced engravers, the workshop will substitute linoleum for wood. Each student will engrave their own design.

Saturday, May 23 at Casa Larga: Experience the comedy of Joe Avati – an Australian-born comedian with Italian heritage! Join us before the show with a Chef prepared Italian Buffet. Show is appropriate for ages 12+. Can purchase show tickets alone ($64) or with buffet dinner ($109).

Going for Baroque is a weekly series of mini-recitals at the Memorial Art Gallery, offered each Sunday at 1:30 PM and again at 3:00 PM. It offers the opportunity for students from the Eastman School of Music to perform alongside professional musicians on the Italian Baroque organ on the second floor of the museum. The 25-minute mini-recital is included with museum admission.

Explore, see, and experience our Historic Village. We invite you to tour spaces and buildings representing home, civic, social, economic, farm, and religious life throughout the 1800s.