First Year Arts

HELLO, FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS!

Welcome to Harvard, and to the Office for the Arts at Harvard, where our business is supporting you and the entire Harvard community in the discovery, exploration and practice of artmaking of all kinds. 

What's that mean for you? Our reach is: dance, ceramics, theater, working with professional artists from a range of disciplines, orchestral participation, choral work, obtaining funding for arts projects and subsidies for music lessons. All of us at the OFA are here to help you explore whatever art you do, or whatever art you want to try! All are welcome at the OFA.

Check out our staff list for all the contacts you need. And find out how to request space on Harvard's space booking system RoomBook. 

Harvard's  artistic community is strikingly diverse and passionate—whether folks plan to go on to a career in the arts or not. For instance: That saxophonist in the jazz band who takes on a solo in a Duke Ellington composition? She’s pre-med. The actor tackling Gertrude in Hamlet? They've got their sights set on law school. And that guy working with the professional artist in the OFA Ceramics Program might end up running a nation someday. What about you? Where can the arts fit into your Harvard experience and the dreams you have for your life? 

Artmaking and the OFA  

Whatever art you make or want to make, we can help. 

Each year, more than 3,000 students use the OFA as a central resource to realize their artistic ambitions. Whatever your arts journey, the OFA is your first stop. Find out more about OFA sources of support such as project grants, fellowships and subsidies for music lessons. Explore opportunities with the many OFA affiliated music ensembles, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, Harvard Choruses and University Choir, Kuumba Singers, Pops Orchestra, Baroque Chamber Orchestra and more. Dive into the theater scene working with our production staff at campus theater venues and in the houses. Learn about our flagship guest artist program Learning from Performers, which brings some of the world’s most inventive and distinguished professionals to engage with students. All of this, plus our state-of-the-art  Ceramics Studio and Program, the  OFA Dance Program at the Harvard Dance Center, the OFA Jazz Program and ARTS FIRST, our annual spring festival showcasing student and faculty creativity.

Stay in touch

Subscribe to The Beat, the OFA weekly arts e-newsletter that covers all the arts at Harvard. You can also submit your arts events to be included in The Beat.

Got questions or need clarification? Reach out to Amanda Boldt, director of First Year Arts Initiatives.

More resources 

The Harvard College Dean of Students Office has compiled a list of resources available to provide you with various types of support. The resources cover academic support, health and wellness services, opportunities for social and community connection, career advising assistance and ways to get help in emergencies.