Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – Please Be Seated 50th Anniversary Celebration & Artist Panel

Aspen Golann and Peter Galbert will join the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the innovative Please Be Seated program, a museum-wide initiative inviting contemporary artists to create functional seating for visitors and the permanent collection.

As makers of the newest Please Be Seated bench, Aspen and Peter will be in conversation with Yale professor Ned Cooke, conservator Christine Storti, and MFA curator Michelle Millar Fisher to discuss contemporary craft, collaboration, and what makes the PBS program so enduring and special. A reception with refreshments will follow the panel.

Thursday, March 19
Remis Auditorium
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Panel: 1:30–2:30 pm
Reception: 2:45–4:00 pm

Meeting Bench, 2025
Maple, hickory, milk paint
Aspen Golann, American, born in 1987
Peter Galbert, American, born in 1969
Maple, hickory, milk paint
Fabrication Assistance: Eli Barlow, Owain Harris, and Annalise Rubida
Linde Family Wing Group Entrance 

Golann’s and Galbert’s design draws inspiration from 1700s Windsor chairs—one of the most successful and widely used seating forms in North American history, with strong historical ties to Boston. While referencing traditional styles, the artists introduce contemporary elements using broken lines, overlapping backs, and curved planes. Many modern Windsors are made through fully industrialized methods, but Golann and Galbert made their Meeting Bench by hand. They embraced the strength and flexibility of green wood, hand-split spindles, and hand-carved seats, as well as a collaborative process that included assistance from friends and colleagues. Meeting Bench was commissioned for the 50th anniversary of Please Be Seated, a museum-wide program that invites contemporary artists to make functional seating for visitors and the permanent collection. We hope its blend of familiar and unexpected elements invites curiosity, engagement, and a moment of rest.