Photo by Melissa Blackall | Cedric Harper: ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE, Mills Gallery, 2023Photo by Melissa Blackall | Cedric Harper: ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE, Mills Gallery, 2023The Mills Gallery has been showing contemporary artists and curators from Boston and beyond since the mid-1970s. The Mills Gallery supports innovative exhibitions that connect artists with the community, peers, and resources providing a vibrant platform for new art in Boston.
The Mills also presents signature exhibitions such as the Drawing Show and the Project Room Exhibition, which features work by BCA Studio Residents who are part of a three-year residency in our Artist Studios Building.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Past Exhibitions
About Mills Gallery Exhibitions
Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) introduces a collaborative exhibition-making model that focuses on innovative solo shows created collaboratively between one artist and one curator, presented in the BCA Mills Gallery. In addition, curators and artists selected for upcoming projects are provided with 10–12 weeks of studio space in BCA Artist Studios Building, to develop their project in close proximity to the gallery.
The opportunity to use studio space at BCA provides the curator and artist with space not only to develop their exhibition, but also to engage them in ongoing conversations about their project with staff, BCA studio residents, and the local community.
In addition to studio space, the selected artists and curators receive: an honorarium; logistical, critical, and practical assistance; funds and resources to produce their 12-week exhibition in the Mills Gallery; and support for exhibition-related public programming. An internal and external jury select exhibitions that align with our mission and that are experimental, responsive, engaged, and impactful. Read more of our Artistic Ethos here.
The Gallery also presents ongoing signature exhibitions such as the Drawing Show and other special exhibitions.
Since 2009, this acclaimed exhibition program has involved external curators for each exhibition, showcasing projects by over 50 esteemed curators, having shown work by over 500 artists at all stages of their careers.
During its 50-plus years Boston Center for the Arts has hosted numerous exhibitions, including by Derrick Adams, Judy Chicago, William Cordova, Martin Creed, Dirt Palace, Jeff Huckleberry, James Montford, Liliana Porter, Javier Tellez, and Anna Von Mertens. Visual artists who have exhibited recently at Boston Center for the Arts include Catalina Schliebener, Mithsuca Berry, Raafat Majzoub, Mimi Bai, Cedric Harper, and Brooke Stewart.
About the Space
The Mills Gallery is a 1,800-square-foot flexible open-plan layout.
Click here to view the Mills Gallery Floorplan.
Open Call for Exhibitions
All exhibitions are selected through an Open Call process. Applications are reviewed by an external jury. Everyone is welcome to apply within the parameters of the exhibitions we are programming.
Applications for 2024–2025 are now closed.