The Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) supports student engagement in the arts and serves the University in its commitment to the arts. Through its programs and services, the OFA fosters student art making, connects students to accomplished artists, integrates the arts into university life, and partners with local, national and international constituencies. By supporting the development of students as artists and cultural stewards, the OFA works to enrich society and shape communities in which the arts are a vital part of life.
At its essence, the Office for the Arts champions artists—whether first-year Harvard undergraduates or master innovators. Forty-five regular employees and fifty professional instructors comprise the staff of specialists across arts disciplines. Traditional and contemporary aesthetics are integrated into the teaching of co-curricular courses, as well as in the artistic direction of our ensembles, exhibitions and guest artist programs. The OFA creates connections among practice, theory, and history. It also strives for state-of-the-art practices in the management of many Harvard arts venues.
OFA programs enable students to explore an art form in depth and to work directly with professional artists in a wide range of courses, workshops, master classes, residencies, and apprenticeships and in the creation of new works.
For over 35 years the OFA Ceramics Program, known for its leadership in the field, has provided a creative studio environment for Harvard, greater Boston, and international constituents. The core strengths of this studio/study center are its excellent courses and instructors, innovative interdisciplinary symposia, unlimited studio access for independent study, and expansive, well-equipped facility. The Program is located at Barry’s Corner in Allston and offers three semesters each year of courses at all levels, as well as master classes and workshops by visiting artists. More than 1000 Harvard undergraduates, graduate students, Harvard faculty and staff, professional artists, and members of the public are annually enrolled.
The OFA Dance Program is characterized by a history of connecting students to dance pioneers. It offers professional instruction in a wide range of styles during the academic year to undergraduates, graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni/ae at the Harvard Dance Center and the Director’s Studio. Professional mentoring for student choreographers and the opportunity to learn professional repertoire are a focus.
Dance existed in various forms at Radcliffe College since the late 1890s. In 1964 Radcliffe appointed Claire Mallardi to develop dance into a full-scale program. When the Office for the Arts was created in 1973, the Dance Program was placed under its auspices. In 2000, Elizabeth Bergmann, former Chair of the University of Michigan’s Dance Department, was appointed Director of Dance and the Program became fully part of the FAS. In 2006, the Program physically moved to the new Harvard Dance Center at 60 Garden Street, which houses a main studio (that converts to a theater) and an additional teaching studio. A third Program studio is located at 74 Mt. Auburn Street.
The OFA Jazz Program brings masters of this uniquely American art form to Harvard, honoring them and connecting them to students through clinics, rehearsals, and a performance over a period of weeks. While at Harvard, artists are encouraged to pursue musical ideas that stretch beyond their usual interests and share this process with Harvard students. New works are often commissioned.
The Program was initiated in 1971 by Director of Bands Tom Everett and has been developed with the support of the Office for the Arts since 1976. The goal is threefold: to provide an opportunity for undergraduates to work directly with classic repertoire and masters of the art form; to honor artists who have made a significant contribution to American music; and to increase public awareness of the artist’s music. “There is no substitution for intense involvement in an artist’s creation and the insights provided directly by the artist,” says Everett. Guest musicians—who are often isolated from the liberal arts environment—and students, both benefit from this educational exchange.
The Learning From Performers (LFP) program was established in 1975 by the OFA in order to facilitate direct engagement between Harvard students and gifted artists. The program hosts 15 to 20 artists annually in music, dance, theater, film/television, visual arts and inter-disciplinary arts. These artists lead workshops, master classes, seminars, and informal discussions, and also engage in longer-term residencies that sometimes culminate in performances, exhibitions and new works. In recent years, LFP artists have been increasingly involved with students and faculty as part of FAS courses. The impact of the program is broadened by connecting these artists to other Harvard resources such as the JFK School of Government, the Institute of Politics, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, and the Divinity School.
Through its Public Art Program, the OFA pursues explorations of public spaces by commissioning emerging or established artists to develop new work at Harvard. Together students and the artist explore the meaning of and possibilities for art and civic engagement. The resulting temporary works often interpret spaces that may be owned by Harvard but are used publicly. These long-term residencies allow visiting artists to know Harvard’s places, staff, students, faculty and public. Artists visit FAS and professional school courses and meet with undergraduates in College Houses.
The OFA provides financial support for student artists through:
• Artist Development Fellowships
• Project Grants
• Music Lesson Subsidy Program
The Office for the Arts manages Agassiz Theatre, New College Theatre, and Harvard Dance Center for student productions and for dance classes and workshop performances, as well as Directors Studio, a rehearsal space available to Harvard dance companies. Professional technical directors who conduct workshops on technical theater are also on hand to assist all production companies.
The Office for the Arts also oversees the management of the Memorial Hall/Lowell Hall Complex (including Sanders Theatre), the Harvard Box Office at Holyoke Center, and Arts First, an annual celebration of undergraduates in the arts. The OFA manages all rehearsal and performance activity in Sanders Theatre and Lowell Hall. In a typical year, the schedules for Sanders and Lowell include 100 student rehearsals, 78 student performances, and 90 non-affiliated performances. OFA staff provides considerable support for student presentations, including training and supervision in stage management, house management, technical production and event planning. In addition to Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall contains practice, storage and office space, the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub (which is used for performance and is under separate management), and Annenberg Hall.
Harvard has a large and gifted student music community which participates in eleven professionally-led choruses and orchestras supported by and affiliated with the Office for the Arts (OFA). Many of these undertake annual tours domestically and overseas. They vary in size and mission, and are a complement to the many student-led groups. Collectively, the professional and student-led ensembles produce upwards of 500 concerts annually.
The OFA works closely with most of these music leaders. The professional conductors report to the OFA’s director, and, in two cases, jointly to the OFA and the Department of Music.
Periodically the Office for the Arts develops conferences, performances, or new work that fall outside its usual program parameters. Leading scholars and artists are engaged, usually in collaboration with other Harvard departments and organizations outside of the University. Three recent initiatives sought to:
• Deepen the connection between art and the curriculum: the Leonard Bernstein Festival, a conference linking practice and scholarship;
• Offer an extended artist residency that would result in the creation of new work: collaboration among artist Ping Chong, the Market Theater,
and Harvard students;
• Advance education and artistry through a mutually beneficial relationship with a cultural organization: Harvard Residency for the Boys
Choir of Harlem.
Each year, Harvard University recognizes accomplished professional and student artists with awards administered by the Office for the Arts.
timeline of OFA history
