Programs

A group of six women standing side by side outside in a stone courtyard with buildings in the background.

List Visual Arts Center 2022-2023 student guides and program educators.

After two years of remote or online programming, we were pleased to reintroduce in-person programs.

Throughout the pandemic, we were able to grow our national and international audiences through virtual events. In order to continue engaging with our global audiences while remaining flexible for those not ready to engage with in-person events, we explored offering hybrid events and event recordings using MIT's most accessible practices. To facilitate this, we hired an additional staff member to join our staff as the Public Programs Coordinator.

Tours and Student Guides

To accommodate more opportunities for gathering outdoors, we increased the number of summer tours offered from monthly to weekly. We also hired and trained three new student guides, who expanded their roles to assist with onsite programs. With this sharp increase in interest, we updated our self-guided tour options available through a mobile browser and transitioned to a new platform to better accommodate GPS mapping.

A small tour group stands facing a large, black steel sculpture with a tour guide on the right speaking to the group.

Campus and Public Programming Highlights

Graduate Student Talks

After a two-year hiatus, we were thrilled to reintroduce the graduate student talk series. This program series invites MIT graduate students and postdocs to share their field research in conjunction with work on view to provide audiences with a deeper understanding and prompts for thoughtful conversations. We grew the scope and reach of this program by offering high-quality recordings and livestreams.

A small audience sits on gallery chairs in a gallery with a projector at the front and a speaker sitting to the right of the projector. A videographer stands to the right recording the lecture.

Spotlight Talks

Spotlight Talks are a new weekly program led by student guides during the academic year. These casual, 15-minute conversations invite visitors inside the galleries to gain deeper insights to the work on view.

Blue background with a closeup of a yellow gelatin sculpture in a circle in the center with title on the left that reads "Spotlight Talk"

Artist-Led Programs

During the summer months, we worked with artists to create programs that could be experienced from anywhere in the world. In 2021, we presented This Way, a series of nine artist-designed walks and prompts for reconsidering the world around us. In 2022, we presented On The Table which offered six artist-designed "menus" to respond to what is on the table when it comes to sharing a meal today.

bright green background with a black fork and knife icon on the left and a portrait of artist Lexa Walsh on the right.

Independent Activities Period Programming

During MIT's January Independent Activities Period, the feature-length documentary Paper & Glue about French artist JR was screened. Inspired by this film, the List Center's program educators created a hands-on opportunity for the MIT community titled Giving Voice: A Poster Project. This project challenged participants to consider how we communicate and “give voice” to people, places, and things that are too often silenced.

Hours