OFA Wintersession January '26

Office for the Arts Wintersession

wintersession 2026 on snowflake background

Join the Office for the Arts Wintersession program on January 22 and 23, 2026

Intro to Creative Entrepreneurship

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 AT 11:59 ET

Pursue your creative passion, explore arts and entertainment career options, and learn from leading artists and arts professionals during Wintersession 2026. Our session offers Harvard undergraduate students the time and space to try something new that would not be possible during the fall or spring semesters. Visit the Dean of Students Office for updates and more information about Wintersession.  

Join us for a two-day Wintersession program designed to help you recognize the skills you already have and adopt an entrepreneurial mindset for building something new, sparking collaborations, and staying curious. 

Over two days, you’ll participate in workshops with creative entrepreneurs, sessions with keynote artists, lunch with Harvard faculty and staff, and guided time to ideate, refine, and shape your ideas into an actionable plan with a clear trajectory.

You’re welcome to bring a project you’d like to develop—but it’s not required. This program is an introduction to approaching your work with the perspective of an entrepreneurial artist.

In this program, you will:

  • Engage in dialogue with leading creative-sector entrepreneurs
  • Develop and refine personal ideas and projects
  • Discover on-campus resources and programming to support your path
  • Learn how to access creative partners, funding opportunities, and best practices
  • Design values-based objectives, pitch decks, and personal branding

Learn with Jim Augustine ’01, a media entrepreneur whose career has spanned theater, film, publishing, technology and business consulting; Sam Magee, Director of the Lemann Program for Creative Entrepreneurship; Rohit Deshpande, Professor at the Harvard Business School, and other local leaders, entrepreneurs and alumni.

Leave empowered to make creative visions a reality on your unique path to success!

Click Here to Complete Registration Form for In-Person participation - Deadline: FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 AT 11:59PM.

Please contact Angie Durrell or Amy DiGiovine with any questions.

Co-presented by the Office for the Arts, the Mignone Center for Career Success and the Lemann Program for Creative Entrepreneurship

 

Intro to Creative Entrepreneurship 2026 Schedule

All Sessions at Harvard MCS (54 Dunster Street, Cambridge MA) unless otherwise specified  

Thursday January 22nd:

  • 10-12pm: Jim Augustine (Intro to Creative Entrepreneurship presentation & discussion). Student and project introductions & values
  • 12:00-1:00pm: Lunch
  • 1:00-2:00pm: Working Session, Case Study from Conflux
  • 2:00-3:00pm Marketing & Branding with Angie Durrell, Jim Augustine Networking quick tips with Amy DiGiovine
  • 3:00:4:00pm: Business of the Arts Rohit Deshpande HBS  
  • 4:00-4:30: Onovughakpor Otitigbe-Dangerfield ’25 Case Study  
  • 4:30-5:30: Wrap up & project planning  
  • 5:30-6:30: Dinner optional
  • 6:30-8:30: Informal project conversations at OFA (74 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge) optional

Friday January 23rd:

  • 9:00 AM Meet outside of MCS to walk to iLab
  • 9:30-10:30 Sam Magee (at i-Lab classroom)
  • 10:30-11:00, iLab tour first floor of Batten Hall at 125 Western Avenue
  • 11:00-11:30: Break/ walk back to dining hall
  • 11:30-12:30: Lunch at dining hall
  • 12:30-1:00: Open discussion
  • 1:00-1:30: Sabrina Peck Citystep
  • 1:30-2:00: Yael Dannon The Mix Case Study  
  • 2:00-3:30: Building & Planning Your Prototype
  • 3:30-5:00: Final Presentations