Arts & Culture

All Arts & Culture

  • Beethoven at 250

    On the 250th anniversary of his birth, several Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the work and life of Ludwig van Beethoven.

    Beethoven
  • Strictly Ballzoom

    Ballzoom, a digital format that lets teams compete, was a first thanks to Harvard students.

    Dancers on Zoom screen.
  • The unique and beautiful await

    Artists from Harvard’s Ed Portal worked from their homes, shops, and studios to amass a catalog of treasures for sale at the fourth-annual winter market.

    Triptych of art.
  • Brighter days for arts forecast in Biden administration

    Though it is too early to tell exactly how the nation’s cultural landscape will fare under a Biden and Harris administration, a number of indicators suggest creative communities could face brighter times ahead with White House support.

    Restoring a painting.
  • A family’s secret language, a reckoning with a Nazi past

    Martin Puchner shares his knowledge of Rotwelsch in his new book, “The Language of Thieves: My Family’s Obsession with a Secret Code the Nazis Tried to Eliminate.”

    Martin Puchner.
  • A beloved holiday theater tradition, remote but not forgotten

    A.R.T.’s annual holiday show, “Jack and the Beanstalk: A Musical Adventure,” is a joyful respite. The 55-minute streamed event is available through Jan. 4.

    Jack and the Beanstalk.
  • Hitting the right note

    The four-day Student Composers Festival begins this week, featuring work by 30 Harvard students and recent alumni. The festival is the creation of Veronica Leahy ’23.

    musical instruments.
  • ‘Garden’ party

    “The Garden” is a new arts course that lets students explore tools and ideas across the disciplines of visual art, film, dance, and music.

    Illustration.
  • Museums of Native culture wrestle with decolonizing

    A panel of museum experts discuss the ways in which museums, which are quintessential colonial institutions, can recreate their missions and practices to respond to social unrest and demands for inclusion and representation.

    Peabody Native American exhibit.
  • Does food have a gender?

    A panel of food experts explored the cultural connections between food and gender during a recent talk sponsored by Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.

    Woman cooking professionally.
  • Feeling close to art from miles away

    The Harvard Art Museums may be closed due to the coronavirus, but virtual visitors can still connect to its vivid treasures thanks to some art-loving Harvard undergraduates who are leading gallery tours from across the globe.

    Franklin Hang.
  • Reading as pleasure

    Led by student convenors, Harvard’s LitLab brings literature to casual gatherings.

    Zoom screenshot.
  • ‘Dragon Cycle’ examines race, class, gender, and identity

    Seattle-based actor/writer Sara Porkalob brings the full “Dragon Cycle” to A.R.T. as part of the “Virtual Oberon” lineup.

    Sara Porkalob.
  • Kevin Young and a unified theory of Black culture — and himself

    Kevin Young ’92, the newly named director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, discusses his life and work.

  • Building a more just society

    “The Architecture of Democracy” examined how buildings, and their designers, contribute to the shape of our society.

    Architecture.
  • Documentary photographer Chris Killip dies at 74

    Chris Killip, 74, renowned documentary photographer and former professor of visual and environmental studies at Harvard, died on Oct. 13.

    Chris Killip.
  • Future of theater? Not exactly sure, but Diane Paulus is working on it

    Diane Paul talks to the Gazette about the Tony recognition of “Jagged Little Pill,” the A.R.T.’s wide-ranging fall schedule, and the very survival of theater itself.

    Diane Paulus.
  • Face to face with America’s original sin

    Book confronts historical, ethical questions posed by Zealy daguerreotypes.

    Book Cover.
  • Bucking assumptions about dance

    Marc Brew, artistic director of AXIS Dance Company, spoke about how his company has adapted to the conditions set by the pandemic.

    AXIS Dance Company.
  • ‘Jagged Little Pill’ snags record 15 Tony nominations

    “Jagged Little Pill,” which premiered at the American Repertory Theater, was nominated for 15 Tony Awards, the most of any show from the 2019-20 Broadway season.

    Actors from "Jagged Little Pill."
  • Backing art for justice

    The Harvard University Committee on the Arts has awarded 12 activist artists with one-time, no-strings-attached honorariums of $2,000 and an open invitation to present at Harvard.

    Protester from BLM event.
  • A.R.T. opens up with virtual programming

    The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) announces it 2020 fall season of virtual programming.

    Photo illustration from Civically Speaking.
  • Students make the show go on

    Students and faculty in the Theater, Dance & Media program think creatively about how to put on a show in the age of COVID.

    A screenshot from “Kaldi: Goats In Minecraft Getting Coffee."
  • In painting others, Black artists discover a picture of self-care

    Harvard’s Ed Portal uses art to kick off a conversation about self-care for people of color.

    Sabrina's portrait.
  • Charting a path for the Silkroad

    Rhiannon Giddens reflects on her new role as the Silkroad’s artistic director, and where she sees taking the ensemble in future.

    Rhiannon Giddens.
  • The center of the world

    Gwen Thompkins celebrates the music of her home state every week on her comprehensive and joyful radio show.

    Collage of map of Louisiana and photo of Gwen Thompkins
  • A classic play, a modern tragedy

    On Oct. 2, the Theater of War will mount a digital performance of “Antigone in Ferguson,” sponsored by Harvard’s departments of Theater, Dance & Media and the Classics.

    De-Rance Blaylock.
  • Befriending ‘Clarissa’ during lockdown

    With time flattened by quarantine, Professor Deidre Lynch proposed a reading group with her friend Yoon Sun Lee ’87, an English professor at Wellesley College. “Clarissa” was their choice — all 1,500 pages — and the readers soon followed.

    Deidre Lynch.
  • A divine cosmos

    Madeleine Klebanoff-O’Brien ’22 used her fellowship at Houghton Library to focus on Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy,” creating a fully image-based research product.

    Dante map.
  • Jameela Jamil is in a good place

    Actress and activist Jameela Jamil talks cancel culture, fatphobia, and diversity in Hollywood in a discussion with Harvard students.

    Jameela Jamil on Zoom.