EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Leah Talatinian
Senior Officer for Marketing and Communications
The Council for the Arts at MIT provides funding for arts projects that engage the MIT community. The Council’s Grants Committee considers proposals for projects in the fall and spring semesters. Applications for Undergraduate Mini-Grants and Graduate Arts Seed Grants are accepted … Continued
The Council for the Arts at MIT provides funding for arts projects with a special interest in supporting projects that engage the MIT community. The Council’s Grants Committee considers proposals for projects in the fall and spring semesters. Applications for Undergraduate Mini-Grants are accepted on a … Continued
The Council for the Arts at MIT provides funding for arts projects with a special interest in supporting projects that engage the MIT community. The Council’s Grants Committee considers proposals for projects in the fall and spring semesters. Applications for Undergraduate Mini-Grants are accepted on a … Continued
The Council for the Arts at MIT will offer two art funding opportunities for IAP 2021 focused on undergraduates and student groups. Special IAP Arts Funding for Undergraduates and Student Groups This one-time special funding opportunity will provide up to … Continued
Discover unique opportunities to make and experience art via the MIT Association of Student Activities database
Looking for a small grant of up to $500? Learn more about Undergraduate Mini-Grants and Graduate Arts Seed Grants. The Council’s grants program provides funding in support of a wide range of art projects that engage the MIT community. The … Continued
In addition to these faculty-led performance groups, MIT boasts hundreds of student interest groups in dance, film, literary arts, music, theater and other interdisciplinary forms. From a cappella singing to improvisational comedy, origami folding to Bhangra dancing, students can choose from a diverse and lively array of arts activities on campus.
Visit theater.mit.edu for more information about student-led theater groups.
For a complete list of student-led interest groups, visit the MIT Association of Student Activities (ASA).
Rambax MIT is an ensemble dedicated to learning the art of sabar, a vibrant drum and dance tradition of the Wolof people of Senegal, West Africa.
MIT’s Public Art Collection reaches across the Institute and may be enjoyed by MIT students and visitors alike. Outstanding examples of work by Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, and other major artists grace the MIT campus for all to view.
The MIT START Studio provides an atmosphere and physical space where student members can explore their creativity. Supported by the Arts at MIT, the goal of the START Studio is to cultivate and support MIT arts focused entrepreneurial projects and business … Continued
There are several locations on the MIT campus where students can find space and tools to work on creative projects. START Studio MIT Building W20-424 Offers a range of tools, from 3D printers to a sewing machine. Open to … Continued
The MIT Museum’s galleries, exhibitions, demos, workshops, performances, conversations, and debates invite visitors to participate in the ongoing adventure of research and innovation. The Museum displays objects from it vast collection, and features rotating exhibitions on a wide range of … Continued
Free for MIT ID holders and the last Sunday of each month, September through June
Directions + Map
OPEN: Seven days a week, 10:00am–5:00pm, except major holidays
The List Visual Arts Center is a creative laboratory that provides artists with a space to freely experiment and push existing boundaries. As the contemporary art museum at MIT, the List Center presents a dynamic program of six to nine … Continued
Admission and programs are FREE and open to the public
Directions + Map
OPEN: Tuesday–Sunday 12:00–6:00pm; and until 8:00pm on Thursdays. Closed Mondays and major holidays.
From 2012 to 2019, the MIT Hacking Arts Festival was an annual conference that ignited cross-disciplinary innovation at MIT. Artists, engineers, and entrepreneurs came together for a two-day festival to take on challenges at the intersection of the arts and … Continued
Gamelan Galak Tika has been at the forefront of innovative, cross-cultural music for Balinese gamelan since 1993.
The MIT Chamber Chorus is a group of about thirty undergraduate and graduate singers representing many disciplines at the Institute. It performs two concerts each year under the direction of Dr. William Cutter. Musical focus is placed on standard chamber … Continued
The Graduate Arts Forum encourages artistic collaboration and intellectual discussions among MIT graduate students from different departments. The program organizes a series of three forums each term that promote and engage students interested in the arts at MIT through presentations, … Continued
The MIT Creative Arts Competition is an annual contest designed to encourage arts-focused startups at the Institute. The $15,000 prize is offered as a grant to help launch the winning enterprise and enable the recipient(s) to join the ranks of MIT’s successful startup founders.
Keynote on Bringing Meaning to the Marketplace: Make * Care * Strategize * Implement
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Wendy Swart Grossman and Jen Guillemin, co-founders of Creative Re/Frame, share their experiences as entrepreneurs, educators, and mentors. They discuss finding the motivation behind a creative venture, forming an idea, and putting it into action using the Make * Care * Strategize * Implement framework.
Panel Discussion
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Roundtable lightning talks with past winners and mentors of the $15K, including: Maria Esteban Casanas and Michael Stradley (Elements, 2020 $15K Winners); Ellen Shakespear (Spaceus, 2018 $15K Second Prize); Nir Hindi (Mentor, Founder of The Artian); and Jon Corbiere (Mentor, CEO of Thought Cafe).
Building your Value Proposition
Thursday, November 11, 2020
Dr. Michael Camp, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation at Ohio State University, shares his experience on how to build and articulate your value proposition as an arts-related venture. This session focuses on understanding and explaining what makes your venture uniquely valuable to customers and stakeholders.
Building your Business Plan (For-profit track)
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Carly Chase, Managing Director of the MIT NYC Startup Studio and entrepreneur-in-residence at the Martin Trust Center, shares guidance on how to build a strong plan for your arts-related venture. This session focuses on building out the dimensions of a venture from key suppliers to target customers and everything in between.
Building your Business Plan (Non-profit track)
Monday, December 21, 2020
Miguel Rodriguez shares his experience as founder and president of Athlone Artists and executive with Boston Baroque, Opera Boston, and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. This session helps students interested in the competition’s non-profit track to build out a robust business plan by identifying target impact, stakeholders, key partners, and more.
Creating a Budget (For-profit track)
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Kit Hickey, co-founder of Ministry of Supply and entrepreneur-in-residence at the Martin Trust Center shares her experience budgeting to support growth in a company’s early stages. This session is aimed at helping for-profit venture teams create and test a prospective budget.
Creating a Budget (Non-profit track)
Monday, December 7, 2020
Julia Turnbull, Assistant Director for Student Programs at the Legatum Center, will discuss her experience evaluating budgets and grant funding for the Inter American Development Bank. This session focuses on how to create a prospective budget to effectively plan for your non-profit venture’s growth.
This informal community of arts-minded entrepreneurs will act as a place for people to make introductions, collaborate, build, and share ideas. We’ll use this platform for $15K Creative Arts Competition team-building and ad hoc meetups/virtual networking events, among other things!
Join to keep up with all things arts entrepreneurship
In this 4-week workshop, you will learn how to talk about, write about, and pitch artistic projects and ventures. You’ll develop an elevator pitch, artist and/or project statement, and learn how to write persuasively about your work for grant applications and awards or competitions. You’ll also learn best practices for developing a pitch deck or curating a portfolio. This course will help prepare you to participate in MIT-specific arts opportunities, including funding from the Council for the Arts at MIT, Student Art Awards, Wiesner Art Gallery exhibitions, and the $15K Creative Arts Competition.
$15K Applications will be open soon; deadline is Friday, February 5, 2021. Stay tuned for details!
The Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Awards are presented annually to individual students (undergraduate or graduate) or MIT groups (.i.e., living groups, student organizations) for outstanding arts-related contributions to the MIT community. Up to four awards are made annually. An endowment fund provides a $2,000 award to each recipient.
Nominees should display a strong commitment to the arts as reflected in their participation in and leadership contributions to arts-related activities and organizations at MIT; the impact of those contributions and achievements on the MIT community; and the potential of their contributions to have a lasting impact at MIT.
MIT community members who are considering nominating individual student candidates based on significant contributions to a single student-led arts organization are encouraged to consider nominating the organization as an entity in recognition of the collective contributions and involvement of an organization’s leadership team and members.
Established by the Council for the Arts at MIT in 1979, these awards honor past MIT President Jerome B. Wiesner and Laya Wiesner for their commitment to the arts at MIT.
The Louis Sudler Prize is presented annually to an individual graduating senior who has demonstrated excellence and the highest standards of proficiency in music, theater, painting, sculpture, design, architecture or film. An endowment fund provides a $2,500 award to the honoree.
Nominations are evaluated based on evidence of individual artistic excellence and achievement; evidence of strong commitment to the arts; and the potential to have a continued impact in the arts.
The prize was established in 1982 by Louis Sudler, a performer in the arts and an arts patron from Chicago.
