OFFICE FOR THE ARTS AT HARVARD
Jack Megan, Director
Main Office: 74 Mt. Auburn Street
Tel. 617-495-8676, Fax. 617-495-8690
www.fas.harvard.edu/ofa

The Office for the Arts (OFA) is a central resource for arts opportunities, programs, information, and support at Harvard. Its mission is to support student engagement in the arts and serve the University in its commitment to the arts. Through its programs and services, the OFA fosters student art making, connects students to accomplished artists, integrates the arts into university life, and partners with local, national and international constituencies. Its programs and services include:

Visiting Artists Programs

Learning From Performers—a multi-disciplinary artist residency program, which brings in fifteen to twenty professional artists each year to work directly with students in workshops, master classes, productions, and full-scale residencies lasting anywhere from a few hours to months. The emphasis of the program is direct student participation in the creative process, working with professional artists of extraordinary caliber. Past Learning From Performers visitors have included Bobby McFerrin, Itzhak Perlman, Wynton Marsalis, Audra McDonald, Aaron Copland, Alan Menken, Blue Man Group, Mel Gibson, Whoopi Goldberg, and many others.

Silk Road Project—a cultural exchange founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma ’67 to study the global circulation of music along the fabled Silk Road, the Silk Road Project consists of musicians around the world who share their musical ideas—both traditional and innovative—through performances, recordings, university and museum residencies, and workshops. In September 2005 the Silk Road Project inaugurated a five-year collaboration with Harvard through the Office for the Arts and the Department of Music, which serve as the Project’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences hosts and assist in the development of its wide-ranging artistic and educational scope at the University, which includes participation by undergraduates as well as members of the broader Harvard community.

Public Art Residency—a program through which established artists and students work together to explore the meaning of and possibilities for art in public spaces. Students may collaborate with artists who are commissioned to create new works on campus or they can participate in educational forums and visit project sites. Visiting artists have included Lee Mingwei, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Mags Harries.

Jazz Artist Residency—a program that connects students to masters of this American art form through clinics, rehearsals, and performances. Past artists include Max Roach, J.J. Johnson, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Dave Douglas, Jim Hall, and Jon Hendricks.

Visiting Director Program—co-sponsored by the American Repertory Theatre and the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, this program provides undergraduates opportunities to work with an accomplished professional director on the Loeb Drama Center Mainstage.

Instructional Programs

Dance Program—provides ongoing professional co-curricular instruction in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, West African, and other forms to more than 350 undergraduates during the academic year. Courses are taught in the Harvard Dance Center and the Director’s Studio (curricular courses in movement are offered through the Committee on Dramatic Arts and taught by Dance Program staff).

Ceramics Program—is located in a fully equipped professional studio managed by the Office for the Arts. Ceramics classes, seminars, and visiting artist demonstrations are offered to students, faculty and staff, and community members at minimal fees throughout the year. Clay All Night parties and Drop-In sessions are available to undergraduates.

Music Program—The OFA oversees and supports the activities of several major professionally led choral and instrumental ensembles, including the Harvard University Bands, comprised of the Harvard University Band, Jazz Band, and Flute and Wind Ensembles; the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra; the Harvard Pops Orchestra; the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra; the Mozart Society Orchestra; the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College; and the Holden Chapel Choirs, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Harvard Glee Club, Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, and Radcliffe Choral Society.

Figure Drawing—a weekly class sponsored by the Office for the Arts and taught by award-winning New England artist Jon Imber.

Student Support Services

Grants—under the aegis of the Council on the Arts, a faculty committee, the Office for the Arts administers close to 100 grants annually to support projects in the arts involving close to 1,500 students. Grant guidelines, applications and deadlines are available on the OFA website.

Music Lesson Subsidies—provides financial support to undergraduates for individual voice and instrumental lessons. Subsidies are awarded once a year in October based on proficiency and financial need.

Music Teacher Referral File—helps connect students with qualified music instructors in the Boston/Cambridge area. Teacher listings are available on the OFA website.

Technical Theater Support—provides hands-on professional training and support for nearly 60 student drama productions annually.

Harvard Box Office—a resource for student performing groups, offering not only ticketing and promotional services but also theater management training. The box office tickets approximately 500 events annually.

Facilities Management

The Office for the Arts manages a variety of important arts spaces, including Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall, Lowell Lecture Hall, Agassiz Theatre, Harvard Dance Center, Ceramics Studio, and the Director’s Studio. As part of its management services, the Office for the Arts provides instruction on production planning and implementation at all venues.

A One-Stop Center for Arts Information at Harvard

Project Planning and Career Consultation—the Office for the Arts staff is eager to help students and offers specialists in all arts fields. One of the OFA’s most important functions is not so much programmatic as it is advisery. OFA administrators meet virtually every day with students to discuss a variety of matters such as exploring opportunities in the arts at Harvard, creating new work, and making connections both within and outside of the University. The OFA also collaborates with Harvard’s Office of Career Services to present seminars and other special events devoted to careers in the arts.

Information Sources—both in print or on-line:

• Calendar of arts events—on-line calendar of ticketed or scheduled events through the Harvard Box Office, can be found at www.fas.harvard.edu/tickets. On-line tickets sales are available for many events.
• The Beat—student-oriented weekly email listing of arts events at Harvard; subscribe at thebeat@fas.harvard.edu
• Arts Spectrum—quarterly newsletter of OFA news and Harvard features of interest
• Practice and Performance: the Guide to the Arts at Harvard

Arts Policy Forum—addresses current issues in the arts by engaging leading public figures in lectures and discussions; past participants have included several National Endowment for the Arts chairs, and such major arts figures as James Taylor, Mandy Patinkin, John Guare, and Elizabeth Murray. Students are encouraged to suggest topics.

Community Arts Partnerships—fosters connections between arts and cultural organizations within Harvard and between Harvard and the Boston/Cambridge community. Students are welcome to join, three meetings are held each academic year.

ARTS FIRST

The Office for the Arts produces a major four-day student arts festival each year during the first weekend of May, which is the culmination of a year’s worth of undergraduate arts activity. This festival is sponsored by Harvard’s Board of Overseers and features the work of over 2,000 students in hundreds of concerts, plays, dance performances, and exhibitions.

Contact Information

For more information on the Office for the Arts and its programs, visit our website at www.fas.harvard.edu/ofa or call the main office at 617-495-8676.