Series of events bring together distinctive art forms with common thread

A series of events last week at Harvard’s ArtLab showcased the dynamic, collaborative, and forward-thinking spirit of the arts. The events, which included performances, discussions, and an experiential Soundwalk, gave a behind-the-scenes look at how Harvard is redefining performance as a form of research and creative inquiry.

The series kicked off on Nov. 4 with an intimate Soundwalk through the landscapes of the Cambridge and Allston Harvard campuses, created by current Loeb/ArtLab Fellow Jacek Smolicki. Smolicki is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and researcher whose work “explores the critical, existential, and technological dimensions of listening, recording, and archiving across human and more-than-human contexts.”

“Tonight’s program reflects what the ArtLab was designed to do — bring together students, faculty, and guest artists to create, experiment, and take risks together,” said Bree Edwards, director of the ArtLab. “Our audience is an essential part of that process. Over our first five years, they’ve come to trust that an evening at the ArtLab will offer an experience that is inspiring, innovative, and intimate.”

During the Soundwalk, attendees wearing headphones were immersed in a multitude of sounds recorded as part of Smolicki’s artistic research during his residency, including sounds from along the Charles River and on Harvard’s Cambridge and Allston campuses. Examples of sound included everyday conversations between friends and classmates, the hum of construction sites, rushing rivers, and even the Head of the Charles Regatta. The sonic experience was layered with Smolicki’s narrations highlighting the importance of environmentalism today, and an emphasis on pausing to take in the present moment. While leading the trek, Smolicki recorded the Charles River, Storrow Drive overpass, and a few construction projects on the Allston campus.

The Soundwalk concluded at Harvard University’s ArtLab and segued into a live student performance of Annea Lockwood’s “bayou-borne” (2016), performed by the Harvard New Music Ensemble. Starting with a quiet drum and building into an orchestra of percussion, string, and wind instruments, the audience was transported to the bayous surrounding Houston.

The performance was followed by a discussion between Lockwood and Teju Cole, part of the “Composers Talk at ArtLab” series. Annea Lockwood (b. 1939), was recently described by The New York Times as “a composer of insatiable curiosity and a singular ear for the music of the natural world.” Cole is the Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing in Harvard’s Department of English.

During the discussion, Cole highlighted the unique nature of the score given how it follows the bayous of Houston. Lockwood reflected on her journey as a composer, from her beginning playing pianos in the forest, to her adventures throughout Europe and the Americas absorbing the soundscapes of the natural world. She emphasized the effect of sound on everything, including the link between sound and the rise and fall of blood sugar levels and neural changes in the human body. “[Sound] isn’t an object. It’s an element in a co-existing world,” said Lockwood. She also reflected on her love for her late partner Ruth Anderson and their mutual fascination with sound, before answering questions from the audience about her 60-year career.

Both ArtLab events were curated by Harvard Music Professor Claire Chase. and supported by Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA), sponsored by the Johnson-Kulukundis Family President’s Fund for Arts at Harvard University. Chase joined the Harvard faculty in 2017 and teaches courses on contemporary music, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cultural advocacy. She was the first flutist to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2012, and in 2017 was the first flutist to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for Classical Music from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She served as the Richard and Barbara Debs Creative Chair at Carnegie Hall in the 2022-23 season and as the music director for the 2025 Ojai Music Festival.

More events from ArtLab and ArtsThursdays can be found here.