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.
Spring 2025 Grants Committee Funding Recipients
Twenty-one projects by MIT students, staff, and faculty received funding this spring for artistic work that engages the MIT community through interactive installations, exhibitions, performances, and more.
Ballroom Dance Team, MIT Open Ballroom Dance Competition
Hosted by the MIT Ballroom Dance Team, the MIT Open is one of the largest and most well-respected collegiate amateur ballroom dance competitions in the US, attracting 800+ dancers from over 70 colleges and studios.
Valerie Chen, William Wang, and Lily Tsai, graduate students, Midday Ravelry
A performance by MIT students and recent alumni of music for piano, violin, and cello by Maurice Ravel, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Cedric Colas, postdoctoral associate, Tangible Dreams: Exploring Visual Patterns Through Physical Neural Networks
An interactive art installation based on a neural network, where visitors can manipulate cables, knobs, and switches to direct how information flows through the system, transforming simple coordinates into vibrant visual patterns.
MIT Flow, Debut Chinese Dance Showcase: Origins
An inaugural showcase of traditional dances inspired by Chinese culture and history, including court dances, martial arts, myths and legends, folk dances, literature, and more.
East Campus Lighting Team for Build 2025, From Darkness into Light: Reviving East Campus
A series of creative lighting designs and installations to activate East Campus during MIT’s Residential Exploration Week for incoming first-year students.
Joseph Lark-Riley, staff, Gertrude Stein’s Not Sightly, a play
A theatrical performance that blends text by Gertrude Stein, research into the Ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, found-object puppetry, and electronic music.
Reuben Fuchs and Clay Lewis, undergraduate students, Every Log Everywhere All at Once
An original feature-length film inspired by Everything, Everywhere, All At Once that tells the story of Axol, a college student trying to figure out what direction to take in life, and contains original music, singing, and scoring.
MIT Lion Dance Group, Lion Dance Spring Show
A performance by the MIT Lion Dance Group that incorporates elements of traditional lion dancing with modern dance routines, including hip hop, contemporary, and traditional Chinese dance.
Eric Liu, graduate student, Thelxinoë: Queer Sound-Reactive Wearable Computing and Performance
A spectrogram dress designed for drag performance which visualizes and maps sonic inputs onto the visual spectrum through fashion engineering and data-driven design.
Logarhythms, MIT Logarhythms 2025 Spring Concert
A performance by the MIT Logarhythms, MIT’s oldest a cappella group. Since 1949, the Logs have entertained audiences with their unique mix of harmony and humor, and are known for their dynamic performances and innovative arrangements.
MIT Gala student organizations, 2025 MIT Gala
A runway show featuring MIT community-designed fashion pieces and starring student models styled by student designers, held in conjunction with a student arts showcase.
MIT Muses, 2025 Spring Concert
A showcase of vocal performance by MIT’s only a cappella group for women and gender minorities.
Next Act, Groundhog Day (The Musical)
A musical theater performance during MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend by Next Act, a student theater group celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Office of Religious, Ethical, and Spiritual Life, What is Your Light? A Community-Based Installation at the MIT Chapel
A collaboration between the MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life and artist Maria Finkelmeier, the installation “What is Your Light?” transforms the exterior of the MIT Chapel into a dynamic, multi-sensory space inviting reflection, connection, and inspiration.
Pari Rajesh, Ariella Blackman, and Ugo Okwuadigbo, undergraduate students, Traditions of East Campus: How Culture Unites Us
An exhibition in the Wiesner Student Art Gallery showcasing the history, culture, and traditions of MIT’s East Campus dormitory, coinciding with the reopening of the renovated East Campus buildings in fall 2025.
MIT Ridonkulous, Footwork XVIII: Celebrating 20 Years of Donk
A showcase and workshop series for dancers from around Greater Boston, hosted by MIT hip-hop dance team Ridonkulous as the group celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Rune student organization, The 45th edition of Rune, MIT’s literary and art magazine
A student-run magazine that features artistic and literary work and provides opportunities for MIT student artists to express and connect.
Lucy Corlett and Olivia Fiol, graduate students, Silt Magazine Issue 3
A graduate student-run magazine that archives and celebrates the creative work of students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a larger community of artistic urbanists who orbit MIT.
Spain@MIT student organization, Feria de Abril at MIT
A celebration of the Spanish Feria de Abril festival for the MIT community featuring a professional flamenco performance with traditional music and a sevillanas folk dance workshop.
Izzi Waitz, Jingrong Zhang, and Fábio Duarte, researchers in the MIT Senseable City Lab, MIT in Motion: Social Life in Public Spaces
An interactive exhibit that translates data of pedestrian behavior and interactions in public spaces on campus into choreographed dance and music.
Wuming Theater Club, Murder on the Orient Express
A Chinese-language adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express that introduces distinctive Chinese elements to aspects of the script, costumes, and props.