“The Gardner is famously unchanging, at least in the Venetian palazzo that was its original home (and home to its patron, who decreed it). In its airy new edition, shows come and go, and the Gardner’s summer offering, “Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet” (through Sept. 11, www.gardnermuseum.org) is a look at the beloved children’s author and illustrator through his other passion, the stage. But you’ll find wild things all the same, never fear — his most famous story was adapted for opera in the 1980s. While you’re here, it’s a breeze to cross the park and stop in at the MassArt Art Museum (www.maam.massart.edu), where Joana Vasconcelos’s giant fabric sculpture “Valkyrie Mumbet” will continue to tower until the end of the year. “Designing Motherhood,” which opened at the museum more recently, is a revealing look at caregiving through art and design (through Dec. 18).”

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