“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you  to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”  -- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Our Arts & Environment Program promotes a discovery of the arts, a passion for place and nature, and environmental responsibility. We sponsor an integrated program of community events including our signature Musketaquid Earth Day, Solstice Celebrations, adult and children's classes, Ninjas in Nature workshops, and public art installations.

All ages and abilities are welcome: individuals and families, environmental, school and community groups.

Did you know? The name "Musketaquid" honors the wisdom of Concord's first people who described this place according to its nature, "the place where the waters flow through the grasses." Just as Concord's rivers extend beyond their bends, we seek ways to reach across traditional boundaries between art and nature. This sense of place is integral to our program and we connect to the past and to the present through observation, reflections, and creation.

Land Acknowledgement

Related to our mission of enriching lives and building a vibrant community through the arts we would like to acknowledge that the land we use for classes and events and the land on which The Umbrella is built is the original homelands of the Nipmuc tribal nation and the original people of the land known as Musketaquid.  We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we gather.