5 March, 2024
Character reenactor Jessa Piaia will present a dramatic portrayal of Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) in “A Visit with Isabella Stewart Gardner: America’s First Patroness of the Arts” at Hopkinton Public Library on Tuesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm.
This program is sponsored by the Hopkinton Garden Club as part of their 100th anniversary celebration and co-sponsored by Hopkinton Public Library and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and registration will open on March 5th, 9am at the following link: https://hopkintonlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/tba-garden-clu…
The drama is set in 1910, seven years after the opening of Fenway Court which Mrs. Gardner designed and built for her extensive art collection, and willed to the City of Boston upon her demise. A recognized leader of Boston’s emerging salon scene, Mrs. Gardner, with characteristic verve and candor, relates episodes about her luminous circle of family and friends, relives journeys to exotic lands, and shares other potentially scandalous encounters. Mrs. Gardner will also discuss her intent of the merging of the cultures of East and West into the traditional Tea Ceremony and cultivating the aesthetics of gardens. The portrayal runs approximately 45 minutes in length, with an informal and interactive Q&A to follow.
Piaia uses drama to reveal the accomplishments, struggles, and contributions of women to American history. Clad in period attire, she is acclaimed for “recreating history in the fullest sense,” and for using “solid research and compelling writing” in her artistry. She performs at educational institutions, museums, libraries, and social and cultural organizations throughout New England. An eleven-site Massachusetts tour of Susan B. Anthony in “Meet Susan B. Anthony: A Singular Feminist” in Spring 1994 was supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities; a mini-grant was awarded in Fall 1997 for the program, “From Suffragist to Citizen: A Conversation with Susan B. Anthony and Eleanor Roosevelt” for three sites across the state, with Piaia (as Anthony) and Elena Dodd (as Roosevelt).
Ms. Piaia studied performance at London’s Oval House Theatre and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She retired from Harvard University’s School for Engineering and Applied Sciences after 35 years of service. Research for this program was conducted at the archives of The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Historic New England (The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, S.P.N.E.A.); Beauport Sleeper McCann House in Gloucester; Boston Public Library’s microtext department; Massachusetts Genealogical Society; The Church of the Advent, and The Society of St. John the Evangelist.
Hopkinton Garden Club, founded in 1924, is a member of The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. Visit us at www.hopkintongardenclub.org; follow Hopkinton Garden Club on Facebook and @hopkintongardenclub on Instagram. New members are welcome any time during the club year. Come learn with us!
