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Free Events
The Folger offers a wide range of free events for audiences of all ages, including our monthly book club discussions and our annual celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday.
Folger Salon with Jareema Hylton, Sarah Koval, and Victoria McAlister
Folger Salon with Jareema Hylton, Sarah Koval, and Victoria McAlister
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 4:30pm
On View: Dominick Porras
On View: Dominick Porras
In this small solo exhibition, artist Dominick Porras pairs research with his own linguistic and cultural knowledge of the Coahuiltecan peoples to complicate ideas of contact, survival, and transformation.
Fri, Jan 9, 2026 – Sun, Feb 15, 2026
Shakespeare Exhibition
Our Shakespeare Exhibition
See the Folger First Folios, learn more about Shakespeare and his plays, and explore the complexities of his cultural legacy.
Ongoing
On View: Mandy Cano Villalobos
On View: Mandy Cano Villalobos
In this small solo exhibition, artist Mandy Cano Villalobos harnesses the leftover materials of home, belonging, and cultural identity to draw attention to the lasting legacies of injustice and environmental damage that are a consequence of early modern colonization and empire building.
Fri, Feb 20, 2026 – Sun, April, 5, 2026
Gallery Talk: Mandy Cano Villalobos
Gallery Talk: Mandy Cano Villalobos
Learn more about the legacies of injustice and environmental damage that are a consequence of early modern colonization in this gallery talk with Mandy Cano Villalobos as part of "Contemporary Art at the Folger," a rotating series that showcases the work of Folger Artist Fellows.
Fri, Feb 20, 2026, at 6:30pm
Family Workshop: My Shakespearean Monologue
Family Workshop: My Shakespearean Monologue
Attendees will use words and phrases from Shakespeare’s plays to create a personal monologue about who they are, with a chance to proudly perform it for everyone to hear.
Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 11:30am & 1pm
Folger Book Club: 'Queen Hereafter' by Isabelle Schuler
Folger Book Club: 'Queen Hereafter' by Isabelle Schuler
Our March selection imagines a young Lady Macbeth growing up in and navigating the political perils of medieval Scotland.
Thu, Mar 5, 2026, 6:30pm
Blackwork Embroidery with Heidi Henderson
Blackwork Embroidery with Heidi Henderson
Celebrate Women's History Month with a drop-in embroidery program with Folger Artist Fellow Heidi Henderson, who will be demonstrating the early modern technique of blackwork embroidery.
Sat, Mar 07 — Fri, Mar 13, 2026
Out of the Vault: Into the Heart of the Folger
Out of the Vault
Encounter remarkable books and manuscripts that connect with the multifaceted work of the Folger in this ongoing exhibition.
Ongoing
Folger Book Club: 'The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf' by Isa Arsén
Folger Book Club: 'The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf' by Isa Arsén
Two Shakespearean actors in an unconventional marriage head West for a production of Titus Andronicus, only to be drawn into their own tangled drama.
Thu, Apr 2, 2026, 6:30pm
Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era
Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era
Displayed together for the first time since 1805, 14 paintings from the influential Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London will be on view at the Folger, offering visitors the chance to consider both the stories Shakespeare created and the stories that were created about him.
Sat, Oct 4, 2025 – Sun, Aug 2, 2026