By Molly Given
Calder Gardens has a busy month in store.
The space opened in the fall of 2025 from a collaboration between The Calder and The Barnes Foundations, featuring the former’s muse, artist Alexander Calder. The 1.8-acre site was designed to “immerse visitors in a place that catalyzes reflection and renewal, highlighting the interplay between art, architecture, and landscape.” It’s all meant to inspire a new approach to museums and art in the Philadelphia area by allowing the showcase — which incorporates different structures and outdoor focal points — to speak for itself.
But in March specifically, the arts venue has even more reason for locals to step inside and explore. One ongoing experience—Walks at Calder Gardens— happens every Thursday through Monday. The 45-minute guided tour gives an inside look at the gardens and galleries to ignite a deeper exploration of how Alexander Calder’s art “ offers different ways of thinking and feeling.” Each walk is capped at 10 people to offer a more up-close encounter, and tickets ($30; members $15) are available to buy online for either an 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. session.
March also marks the start of a new Moon Alignment Series from the space, with the first iteration happening on Monday, March 16, (5 to 6:30 p.m.), honoring the New Moon and Vernal Equinox. As Calder states, the series will happen only when the full and new moons occur (timed to when the sun and moon align), first in opposition for the full moon, then in conjunction, when they share the same area of the sky. This rhythmic alignment of full light and shadow marks unique opportunities to contemplate motion and stillness in relationship with our closest celestial neighbors. Each session in the Moon Alignment Series opens with a brief discussion, followed by a walking meditation, a silent meditation, and closing reflections.
Just like the Walking Tours, the Moon Alignment Series will be capped in attendance, and tickets ($25; $15 for members) can be acquired online.
Later in the month, Calder will also launch their ‘Artists as Gardens’ series. The first, taking place March 21, will feature a concert by musician, composer, and artist Gryphon Rue. The program will be performed twice—at 5:30 p.m. and again at 7:21 p.m., at sunset—in the museum’s main gallery. Seating will be specially arranged to create an immersive sound environment, with musicians positioned throughout the space in dialogue with Calder’s works.
The performance, dubbed ‘Cave Rainbow in Negative Color,’ will feature solo and trio works performed with musicians Julia Den Boer and Odetta Hartman. As a release notes, the concert reflects on how time is sensed, remembered, and distorted, seeking to expand and renew our lived, tactile experience of its passage. The first half presents a heterogeneous, shifting composition, while the second unfolds as a slower, more meditative work. Tickets ($65; members $50) can be purchased online.
To cap everything off, Wednesday, March 25, will mark Silent Day at Calder Gardens, which will continue to be held on the fourth Wednesday of every month going forward. On these dates (from 3 to 7 p.m.), visitors are asked to remain in silence throughout their time in the space with no use of electronic devices, including cell phones, tablets, computers, and headphones. Instead, Calder Gardens encourages visitors to meditate, bring printed reading materials, small paper pads, and pencils for drawing and writing (note that pens, markers, and all forms of paint are not permitted). These days will feature designated areas for reading, drawing, writing, and meditation peppered throughout the property.
In total, the reduced-sensory environment of ‘Silent Days’ supports visitors with autism, social, emotional, or mental health needs, dementia, and other sensory sensitivities. The release also notes that ‘Silent Days’ reflect Calder Gardens’ commitment to being a site of care, contemplation, and well-being—where moments of shared silence can foster awareness and connection.
To learn more information about Calder Gardens (2100 Benjamin Franklin Parkway), visit caldergardens.org