Students participating in a Commedia dell'Arte workshop in the Adams House Pool Theatre
The Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) is a central resource for arts information, opportunities, programs, and support at Harvard University. It encourages direct student involvement in the arts through a broad array of programs and services. The OFA should be your first stop to learn about the arts in and around Harvard. Stop by the OFA at 74 Mt. Auburn Street and check out the rest of the website to learn more or contact us.
The OFA has a Dance Program (495.8683) and Ceramics Program (495.8680) which offer a variety of courses open to staff, faculty, and students. Learning From Performers (495.8676 ) is a visiting artist program that gives students opportunities to interact with professionals in workshops, master classes, informal discussions and other educational forums. The OFA also offers a weekly Figure Drawing Class with Boston artist Jon Imber and a Skills for Singing course for students who would like to improve their fundamental skills for choral singing. Grants for artistic projects, fellowships for emerging undergraduate artists, music lesson subsidies, a jazz master residency program and public art program, and venue management and ticketing services are some of the other initiatives sponsored by the OFA.
If you are interested in learning more about courses for credit in the arts, , the Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) Department (495.3251) for information on taking art classes for credit, and the Music Department (495.2791). Contact the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club for information on how to get involved in theater at Harvard.
The Office for the Arts' Open House is on Tuesday, August 30 from 3-5pm. Come to 74 Mt. Auburn St. and learn about all of the opportunities we provide, meet the OFA staff and other students involved in the arts at Harvard. The Student Activities Fair is on Friday, September 2 from 4-7pm. Come to the Quad and meet all of the student groups.
Interested in Ceramics but don't know if you want to take a course? Go to Clay All Night and see if you like it!
The Dance Program offers many courses at all levels, from beginner to advanced.
Visit the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) website for an overview of arts opportunitiesand how to get involved in the arts at Harvard.Arts First FACES (Freshmen Arts Collaborative Experience Showcase) is a new semester-long, interdisciplinary arts program in which 10 freshmen will develop their own collaborative project, drawing on their skills, interests, and passions. Students will have the opportunity to learn from arts professionals, reflect on the experience, and share their work with the Harvard and larger community. Freshmen with all levels of arts experience are encouraged to apply, as FACES selects a diverse group of arts forms and experience levels. Deadline is in January.
The Freshman Arts Program creates a non-competitive environment that encourages exploration in all forms of art, orients artists to the academic and extracurricular arts opportunities at Harvard, and eases the transition into Harvard life.
The OFA keeps a Music Teacher Reference Guide, a listing of local private lesson teachers online. This file will allow you to browse our guide as well as search by instrument.
The OFA also administers a Music Lesson Subsidy Program to provide a limited number of subsidies for instrumental and vocal instruction to full-time enrolled Harvard undergraduates.
The OFA’s Dance Program (495.8683) and Ceramics Program (495.8680) offer a variety of courses open to staff, faculty, and students. Most courses are co-curricular, but some OFA Dance courses are offered for credit through the the Committee on Dramatic Arts.
The OFA also offers a weekly Figure Drawing Class with Boston artist Jon Imber and a Choir in Progress class for those students who would like to improve their fundamental skills for choral singing.
Some Theater and Dance classes are offered for credit through the Committee on Dramatic Arts. The Music Department (495.2791) and the Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) Department (495.3251) also offer a variety of courses.
Ceramics courses can be taken for independent study credit. Contact Shawn Panepinto (panepint@fas or 617.495.8680)
If you are interested in studio arts, contact the Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) Department (495.3251).
The Adams ArtSpace may be used by individuals when space is available. Please contact Zachary Sifuentes at zsifuent@fas for information about gaining access to the space. Other houses, such as Lowell house, have art studio space and offer classes in photography, ceramics, woodworking and a variety of other arts, all not-for-credit. Please contact the House Administrators (click on "2011-2012 Staff Directory") for more information.The Bow & Arrow Press in Adams House offers courses in letterpress printmaking. They also offer a Freshman Arts Seminar in the Spring.
There is a glassblowing studio in Boston, which is accessible by T.
ImprovBoston offers improv comedy classes from introductory to master classes, and they are conveniently located nearby in Central Square.
Maud Morgan Arts, a dynamic new community arts center in Harvard Square named in honor of the noted artist and community resident Maud Morgan (1903-1999), offers a wide range of programs for all ages.
The Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Harvard Square also offers several arts classes at various levels.
The Office for the Arts Grants for artistically innovative, undergraduate-focused projects are awarded to Harvard undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff, by the Council on the Arts.
Artist Development Fellowships are awarded each Spring to nurture promising and/or accomplished student artists and creators in their development in the practice of the arts.
Other sources of funding can be found in the Office of Career Services (495-2595).
Harvard is bursting with opportunities for students interested in the arts. Check out our list of student groups in the arts. Also, you can view the directory of all Harvard student arts organizations on the Office of Student Life's website.
Contact the Office of Student Life at (617) 495.1558.
The Harvard Monday Gallery Located at 6-8 Linden St Contact the gallery
Penthouse Art Gallery in the Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH)
Arts @ 29 Garden
Three Columns Gallery at Mather House
Adams House ARTspace
Each Spring, the Harvard Student Art Show exhibits and sells student artwork
Harvard Medical School, contact Tania Rodriguez
The Office for the Arts does not have any space where you can exhibit your artwork. If you know of any other spaces that can be used for exhibition of artwork, please let us know (ofa@fas)!
Need rehearal and/or performance space for your band or Student Group (theater, music or dance)? Check out our resources for students. For studio art, check with the Visual and Environmental Studies Department or with the houses to see if any studio space is available. Adams ArtSpace has limited studio space. Please contact Zachary Sifuentes for more information. The OFA does not have any studio space.
There is a drum kit in Mem Hall 014 (practice room ID access only) in Memorial Hall. For more information or to gain access to the drum kit, please contact Adam Kassim, (memhall@fas or 617.496.4595)
Theater: The Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) sponsors Common Casting, a one-stop audition each semester for most of the shows during that semester. The audition dates are usually in the first or second week of September.
Music: visit the website for each music ensemble for more information on auditions. Auditions typically begin around September 1 and end around September 11.
If you are interested in joining a band, get on the musicians-network list (musicians-network@lists.hcs.harvard.edu).
Dance: contact the dance group that you are interested in for more informaiton.
The Harvard Box Office maintains a Calendar of Events.
The Beat is your weekly arts vibe at Harvard University. Sponsored by the OFA, The Beat is distributed every Thursday of the academic year except recesses and exam periods. Sign up to receive a weekly email calendar of events.
There are several arts festivals in and around Harvard. Every spring the OFA celebrates student involvement in the arts with the Arts First Festival. The festival presents more than 200 music, theater, dance, and visual arts events and celebrates all kinds of creative activity at venues large and small, indoors and out, throughout the Harvard campus.
The Black Arts Festival, Cultural Rhythms, and Ostara are a few other popular festivals on campus that attract a variety of student groups to participate.
Contact the Arts First (arts@fas or 495.8699) for more information.
Learning From Performers (LFP), a visiting artist program, brings 15 to 20 professional artists to Harvard each year. LFP provides students opportunities to work directly with visiting artists in workshops, master classes, productions, seminars, and discussions. To learn more about Learning from Performers stop by the OFA, or contact Thomas Lee (495.8676), LFP Program Manager.
The Harvard Box Office provides ticketing and promotional services to student organizations and producers. Contact Jason Govostes (496.6091), Associate Manager and Manager of Student Ticketing Services.
The Box Office staff can help you with ideas for publicizing your event. You can also send an announcement to The Beat to be included in weekly email blast. And, check out the Office of Student Life's publicity resources.
Check out the Cambridge Arts Council, the Somerville Arts Council, and Boston Arts.
Harvardwood is a nonprofit organization for Harvard University alumni and students in the arts, media and entertainment. Visit their website for more information on internships, jobs, networking and more.
The OFA is open 9 am to 5 pm, Monday thru Friday. Stop by, email, or call (495.8676) for more information about the arts at Harvard.
