Salem Community
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebrations
Monday, January 19, 2026 from 11 am—3 pm
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Create Space Studios, Vanessa Platacis: Taking Place exhibition gallery
FREE
All visitors enjoy free admission for the day!
Programming begins at 11 am.
Join us for a free day at PEM as we celebrate and reflect on the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the upcoming exhibition Edmonia Lewis: Said In Stone.
Artist Edmonia Lewis moved continually throughout her life, living in upstate New York, Ohio, Boston, London and Rome, searching for a place where she could thrive as an individual and artist. We invite visitors to reflect on their own identity and search for community, drawing inspiration from Lewis’ life as well as the enduring ideals of justice, equality and inclusion embodied by leaders like King.
North Shore Youth Community Mural
10 am–5 pm | Main Atrium
In partnership with RAW Art Works, young artists across Salem and Lynn have been collaborating on a large-scale community mural, reflecting on ways they hope to embody the idea of belonging. What words would you leave behind for the next generation, written in the history books like Martin or carved into stone like Edmonia?
Drop-In Art Making: Collagraphs
11 am–3 pm | Create Space Studios
We invite you to contribute your own words for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Make your own collagraph printmaking plate or find one made by a community member that speaks to you. Add your words to a second mural and take a print home as a keepsake.
We’ll also be screening the short film “My Black Is…” in the Create Space Studios to inspire you as you create. This film, made by RAW Art Works alums Miguel Valdez and Eunice Beato, features young women working to redefine what their Black identity means to them.
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