Boston is no stranger to the arts. You can go see a Monet in the Museum of Fine Arts or get lost in the colorful patterns of the Institute of Contemporary Art. However, if you’re on a budget or looking for a unique way to experience art off the beaten path, the city has plenty to offer in terms of no-cost art museums and galleries. From hidden galleries featuring local artists to community-made installations to entire museums curated by college students, there’s something for everyone. Below are some of the best and most accessible art spaces in Boston—all waiting for you to explore.
Pao Arts Center
99 Albany St, Boston, MA
Pao Arts Center opened in 2017 as a collaboration between Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center and Bunker Hill Community College. The space was created with the intention of empowering creativity within the local Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, while simultaneously fighting against gentrification and resource inequity in Chinatown. Located in the One Greenway building at the edge of Chinatown, Pao Arts Center is a small gallery space that features changing exhibits highlighting AAPI themes, artists, and curators. In addition to the main gallery space, there are various community rooms within the building for free art classes and events.
Exhibits on view place emphasis on public art and performance-based projects throughout Chinatown. Many of the artworks on display were either made by or for the local AAPI community. During my visit last spring, I was handed a postcard by the Gallery Director, Cynthia Woo, who explained that the pieces within the exhibit “Celebrations of Perseverance: Public Art in Chinatown” were intended to travel throughout Chinatown the spring and summer of 2025, such as a wheelbarrow of tofu sprouts intended to be harvested and taken home by the community. Pao Art Center’s work in the local diaspora and investment in the arts has undoubtedly solidified itself as the heart of Chinatown’s cultural center and beyond.
Accessible From: Near the MBTA Green line Boylston Street stop, Orange line Chinatown stop, or Red line Downtown Crossing or South Station stops. The nearby public parking garage entrance is on Hudson Street.
Hours: Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. See website for specific event times within the space and throughout Chinatown.
Midway Artist Studios
15 Channel Center St, Boston, MA
The mission of Midway Artist Studios is to blend arts and culture with affordable housing, providing local artists a space to both create and live. Located in Southie, the studios are home to artists of all disciplines—performers, filmmakers, musicians, painters, writers, sculptors, photographers, poets, ceramicists, jewelers, illustrators, and dancers are all welcome here. Several gallery spaces, studio spaces, and a multi-purpose lab are open to the public. The exhibitions shown in the space’s “Art Tunnel” and Main Gallery are interchanging, highlighting a diverse array of themes and art styles from local Boston creatives. The space also hosts several Artist Talk Events, as well as open studio hours. If you’re lucky, you might even stumble upon a rehearsal from performers with the Boston Lyric Opera or the several dance groups the building shares its space with.
Accessible From: Near the MBTA Red line Broadway or South Station stop. Also accessible from the #11 bus from South Station, getting off at Mt. Washington and A Streets. There is a parking lot on Binford Street and a parking garage near A Street, behind the Channel Center Park.
Hours: Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. See website for specific events and open studio times.
ShowUp Gallery
524 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
ShowUp Gallery is a small, solo-artist gallery space in the heart of SoWa, the art and design district of Boston’s South End. The exhibition features local contemporary artists whose work is typically underrepresented in traditional gallery spaces, creating necessary dialogues about diversity in the arts. During my visit this past Spring, the exhibition, “A Stone In My Shoe,” was on view featuring the work of Caron Tabb. Her art explored themes of Jewish identity and grief following the loss of her mother; parts of the exhibit were interactable, such as participating in a Jewish symbolic tradition of leaving a stone in a small box to represent remembrance for loved ones lost.
Plenty of materials are available to guide the viewer throughout the space, including a detailed breakdown of the artist statement behind each piece. While the space is free, ShowUp allows patrons to make donations directly to the gallery or towards the artist on show.
Accessible From: 15 minute walk from the MBTA Orange line Tufts Medical Center stop. Silver Line stops are nearby; SL5 from Tremont St @ Boylston Station or SL4/SL5 from Washington St @ Tufts Med Ctr. There is on-street visitor parking on Harrison Avenue just outside the gallery, and on both sides of Randolph Street. Metered parking on Washington Street.
Hours: Thursday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visits are available by appointment on Monday through Wednesday.
Boston Sculptors Gallery
486 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
Also in SoWa, the Boston Sculptors Gallery features the art of local Boston and New England-based sculpture artists from a diverse array of backgrounds. There are multiple artists’ projects on view at the same time in the space, throughout the gallery or their “LaunchPad,” which allows artists the opportunity to install their work in the entryway and windows. The gallery prioritizes exhibition space, so information about the various works on display can be read about through both the pamphlet given upon entry and QR codes on the wall.
Accessible From: See ShowUp Gallery (above) for transportation information.
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MassArt Art Museum
621 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA
MassArt Art Museum, located on the Massachusetts College of Art and Design campus in Fenway, is the only free contemporary art museum in Boston. The museum itself is a “teaching museum,” operated and curated by students and staff at MassArt. The main space has two floors of galleries, with a colorful interior and large, arching windows that let in lots of natural light. The theme of the art on display in the museum rotates; during my visit in the spring, the collection was “Future Fossils,” featuring mainly sculpture art installations, with some multimedia pieces.
In addition to the galleries, the museum has an overlook on the second floor with reading and sitting space, information about the exhibition, and interactive art experiences, such as a chalkboard and sketch prompts. On the first floor is The Barkan Family Studio, which has plenty of seating, reading, toys, and art projects for children and family, as well as wash stations. The atmosphere is welcoming, with similarly large windows, plants on the windowsill, and music playing throughout. Even outside of the museum, there are plenty of public art installations and prime spots for people-watching the creative minds of MassArt students walking around the campus.
Accessible From: Located directly across the street from the MBTA Green line Longwood Medical stop. Also less than a mile from the Orange line Ruggles stop, either by foot or by boarding the CT2 bus. Street parking is limited; the closest self-park garage is located at the Museum of Fine Arts, 20 Museum Road.Hours: Thursdays, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, 12 p.m to 5 p.m.