Council For The Arts At MIT (CAMIT) Articles

2026 Schnitzer Prize recipient C Jacob Payne's Geolectric Lamp at the Venice Biennale installation curated by MIT SA+P. Courtesy of the artist.

Finding Place and Purpose: 2026 Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts Winners

Four graduate artists win this year’s prize: Coco Allred, C Jacob Payne, Jessica Stringham and Harrison White Each year, accomplished professionals enroll in MIT graduate art, architecture, design programs. They come in search of new skills. But they also bring … Continued

2026 MIT Arts Startup Incubator Live Pitch Event. Credit HErickson/MIT.

The 2026 MIT Arts Startup Incubator

We may never unravel the complex DNA that codes for human creativity. Some artistic talents seem to take shape from thin air, inexplicable and otherworldly. Others appear more human, the fruit of hard work and perseverance. But no talent, whatever … Continued

Left to right: Lancelot Blanchard, 2026 Wiesner Award recipient Perry Naseck, and Madhav Lavakare. Photo credit: Caroline Alden.

Four Honorees Take Home 2026 Laya And Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Awards

Clay Lewis, Andrea Marcano-Delgado, Perry Naseck, and Gloria Zhu were chosen this year Since 1979, the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) has been honoring members of the MIT community for their arts-related contributions with the annual Laya and … Continued

2025 Schnitzer Prize Recipient Chenyue “xdd” Dai's Light Up the Way to the Moon, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

The 2025 Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts

The Council for the Arts at MIT congratulates the recipients of the 2025 Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts, awarded for excellence in a body of work. Ars longa, vita brevis. Life is fleeting while art endures. It’s not that … Continued

2025 Sudler Prize winner Holden Mui with Keith Lockhart after performing with the Boston Pops during Tech Night. Courtesy of the MIT Alumni Association.

Louis Sudler Prize: Holden Mui

According to family legend, Holden Mui ’25 learned to read sheet music before he learned to read words. “I don’t know whether that’s true or not,” says Mui, a double major in Music and Mathematics who in April learned he’d … Continued

2025 Wiesner Award recipient Vivian Chinoda '25. Credit Jack Field Studio.

Four Honorees Earn Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Awards for 2025

Vivian Clarissah Chinoda ’25, Ezekiel Daye ’25, Emi Grady Willis ’25 and Ana Schon SM ’25 earn the prestigious award This week the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) publicly honored four students for their arts-related contributions to campus … Continued

BRICK X BRICK: Drawing A Particular Survey. Image credit xdd44.

BRICK X BRICK

MIT students reimagine the architectural survey at an important site of African-American history When Booker T. Washington arrived in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1881 to start a new land-grant university for Black students, he discovered that there was no federal money … Continued

Max Addae demos VocalCords, credit Lane Turner/Boston Globe.

Making The Voice Hands-on

Max Addae’s innovative instrument creates new connections between sound and touch. What if the voice could be manipulated by hand, like so many other musical instruments? That was the question that drove Max Addae, MAS ‘23, to create VocalCords, an … Continued

2024 Wiesner Awards winner Sophia Chen's '24 Infinite Magazine artboard, courtesy of the artist.

Four Honorees Earn 2024 Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Awards

Sophia Chen, Michael Peters, Wuming Theater Club, and Alan Zhu Take Home Prestigious 2024 Wiesner Awards   This week the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) publicly honored four students/groups for their arts-related contributions to campus with the 2024 … Continued

2024 Sudler Prize winner Phoebe Lin '24, credit Phoebe Lin.

2024 Sudler Prize: Phoebe Lin ’24

For Phoebe Lin ‘24, a deep appreciation for music began as a family affair: after starting to learn piano at age 4 and picking up the flute as a teenager, she and her brother, Andrew Lin ‘22, would accompany each … Continued

2024 MIT Arts Startup Incubator, credit HErickson/MIT.

The Business of Creation

The MIT Arts Startup Incubator According to a Unesco survey, there are 671 cultural artforms in danger of disappearing during our lifetimes. Nadine Zaza MS and ME ‘24 wants to change that. “The loss of these artforms means the loss … Continued

Emily Peckham

Introducing Emily Peckham, Director of the Council for the Arts at MIT

  Dear Council Members, I am pleased to announce that Emily Peckham will assume the position of Director of the Council for the Arts on May 6, 2024. Emily has been Development Director for the Points North Institute, home of … Continued

Credit Google DeepMind

The Creative Future of Generative AI

An MIT panel charts how art and design will be impacted by Artificial Intelligence Few technologies have shown as much potential to shape our future as artificial intelligence. Specialists in fields ranging from medicine to microfinance to the military are … Continued

Lauren Gideonse and Adriana Giorgis, Come Back And Tell Me Why Things Last, MIT Wiesner Student Art Gallery. Credit: HErickson/MIT.

Architectural Longevity: What Determines a Building’s Lifespan?

A new exhibition at MIT Wiesner Student Art Gallery explores the practicalities and play of architectural aging   The average lifespan of a house in the United States is between 50 and 63 years, from construction to demolition. For Lauren … Continued

Operation Epsilon, courtesy the artist.

Ten Brilliant Men: Alan Brody’s Operation Epsilon Opens in London

In 1945, towards the end of World War II, Germany’s ten most accomplished scientists were taken captive by the allies and confined to Farm Hall, a villa in the English countryside outside of Cambridge, UK. The group included three Nobel … Continued

Wiesner Award winner Tianyuan (Margaret) Zheng's Wide Tim. Courtesy of the artist.

The 2023 Wiesner Student Art Awards

Get to Know Kidist Adamu, Cici Mao, Tristan Shin, and Tianyuan (Margaret) Zheng Each year, the Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Award is presented to four honorees—either students or MIT groups—for exceptional artistic contributions to the Institute community. … Continued

Pamela Z performing during "Pamela Z with People" at MIT. Credit Caroline Alden.

Pamela Z: Singing the Body Electric

Combining digital technology with the human voice, Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT winner Pamela Z creates layered music from everyday life In the mid-eighties, artist Pamela Z was working at Tower Records on Columbus Street in San … Continued

Reina Mun's "Creatures of the Current." Courtesy of the artist.

Looking Backward, Seeing Forward: The 2023 Schnitzer Prize

The 2023 Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts at MIT recipients: Manar Moursi, Reina Mun, and Karyn Nakamura What happens when technologies fulfill their mission? What happens when they fail, or decay, or when the need for … Continued

Shift+W: Building the Toolbox

Council for the Arts at MIT Spring 2023 Grant Recipients

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 2023 Grants Committee Funding Recipients Eleven projects by MIT students … Continued

Alejandro Medina, Life List prototypes.

Council for the Arts at MIT Announces Fall 2022 Grant Recipients

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

2022 Wiesner Prize recipient Julia Chatterjee. Courtesy the artist.

It’s All About the Art: The 2022 Wiesner Prize

1. Trashion Show, Julia Chatterjee, 2. When The Coyote Stole The Fire, Stuti Khandwala, 3. 116 x 31, Karyn Nakamura, 4. Monologue, Montserrat Garza Julia Chatterjee, Montserrat “Montse” Garza, Stuti Khandwala, and Karyn Nakamura Every year, MIT students enrich their … Continued

2022 Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts recipient Christopher Joshua Benton's The World Was My Garden. Courtesy of the artist.

Local Stories, Global Themes: The 2022 Schnitzer Prize Winners

Christopher Benton, Kwan Queenie Li, and Irmandy Wickasono Good art can be both timely and timeless. It can be rooted in a particular event or place and at the same time speak to audiences across oceans and eras and ideologies. … Continued

Credit: BEARWALK

An Economy of Sharing: Sudler Prize Winner Valerie Chen

Valerie Chen EECS ’22 is a gifted cellist at home in almost any musical genre. Her diverse and challenging repertoire ranges from Brahms and Debussy to the themes from “Game of Thrones” and Pokémon. She is also a gifted musical … Continued

The Architects Collaborative 1945–1995: Tracing a Diffuse Architectural Authorship. Photo: Chris Grimley.

Council for the Arts at MIT Announces Fall 2021 Grant Recipients

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

Chalk of the Day, Courtesy of Jessie Wang '21 and Jessica Xu '21.

Inspiring Aspiring Artists: CAMIT Undergraduate Mini-Grants

MIT students have continued to perform, compose, draw, dance, build, and make in every imaginable way throughout this past year.