The Arts

The arts at MIT are rooted in experimentation, risktaking and problem solving, connecting creativity across disciplines, and encouraging a lifetime of exploration and discovery.

Students

MIT attracts students who are committed to the arts and who study, practice, and perform the arts in classrooms, in studios, and on stage. In fact, 75 percent of incoming freshmen have interests and proficiencies in the arts, and over half of MIT’s undergraduates enroll in arts classes each year. The Institute offers degrees in visual and architectural design through the School of Architecture and Planning, and in music, theater, and writing through the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Many students pursue their artistic interests by participating in more than 60 music, theater, visual arts, writing, and dance groups, and take non-credit classes offered through the Student Art Association.

Faculty

MIT students benefit from work with scholars, practitioners, and mentors possessing excellent credentials and passion for art. Distinguished arts faculty include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz and composer John Harbison (one of eight faculty composers), video and performance artist Joan Jonas, and conceptual artist Krzysztof Wodiczko. Renowned artists from around the world come to campus for residencies, providing insights from different cultures and alternative views on familiar problems.

Events

Productions range from chamber music to electronic "hyperinstrument" concerts, classic Shakespearean plays to musical theater, and ballroom to modern dance. MIT is home to Boston's only Balinese gamelan and a Senegalese sabar drumming ensemble. The Institute is also a leading presenter of South Asian music and dance.

Office of the Arts

Under the direction of the associate provost, the Office of the Arts promotes arts activities on campus and sponsors a number of programs specially designed to encourage students in their artistic endeavors such as the arts grants programs, free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Arts Scholars Program.

List Visual Arts Center

Recognized internationally for its thought-provoking exhibitions of contemporary art, the List Visual Arts Center at MIT has a permanent collection of nearly 2,000 pieces located throughout the Institute. MIT’s acclaimed outdoor sculpture collection features works by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Sol Lewitt, and other international figures. The Student Loan Art Program offers artworks for loan, by lottery, to MIT students.

MIT Museum

The MIT Museum presents exhibitions and programs that explore the foundations and frontiers of science and technology, such as photos by "Doc" Edgerton and the world’s largest collection of holography. The museum provides a window into the research being done behind laboratory doors, and gives visitors the opportunity to investigate technological innovation.

For more information on the arts at MIT, including upcoming event listings, visit http://web.mit.edu/arts/ or call the Office of the Arts at 617-253-4003.