40 Years of Experimentation, Innovation, and Art at MIT

Photograph of a left hand holding up a rectangular photo of a black and white building. The photograph fits seamlessly with the street behind and surround buildings.

Celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the List Visual Arts Center—reflecting on four decades of experimental practice, groundbreaking exhibitions and public art, and bold artistic inquiry at MIT.

To mark the fortieth anniversary, the List Center is highlighting its history through a year-long suite of exhibitions, performances, a major conservation initiative, archival installations, and public programs. We invite you to explore these milestones through our 40th Anniversary Timeline, an expanding digital resource that charts the evolution of the List Center’s mission, community, and impact.

Anniversary Programs and Performances

Performance has played a defining role in the List Center’s history, from the interdisciplinary spirit of the Hayden Gallery to the artist–architect collaborations that shaped the Wiesner Building.

On Saturday, April 11, 2026, the List Center will host a public celebration in conjunction with the opening of Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as Form, featuring two major performance commissions by artists whose practices resonate deeply with the institution’s past and present.

Gordon Hall — 1–2 pm

New York–based artist Gordon Hall presents 1–2 pm, a lecture-performance that explores waiting as both subject and method. Through understated, choreographed gestures, Hall transforms Scott Burton’s Granite Bench (1985)—a cornerstone of the List Center’s public art collection—into an active participant. In doing so, Hall draws connections between Burton’s philosophy of seating, the architecture of the Wiesner Building, and the embodied politics of pause, delay, and attention.

A person squats low with legs tucked under a bench sculpture, arms stretched over the top, and grasps the far edge of the seat.

Autumn Knight — M _ _ _ ER

Artist and performer Autumn Knight, featured in Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as Form, presents M _ _ _ ER, a nonlinear, immersive performance combining improvisation with sculpture, sound, and light navigating the tangled relationships we form with people, objects, and the spaces we inhabit. Through a balance of humor, tension, and what she describes as “controlled chaos,” Knight illuminates the relational structures at play in both performance and daily life.

Dark room with a crowd of people highlighted against the dark background in pink light sitting and watching a woman holding a microphone in the middle of the space. There are gold metallic balloons floating to the left of the central figure.

Nayland Blake – Curated Reception

A reception following the performances will feature creative direction by Nayland Blake, who will curate the event with artist-designed food, beverage, and decor for the celebration.

Installation view featuring a wooden cabin sculpture in the foreground

Public Art Conservation Initiative

Marking its fortieth anniversary, the List Center has launched a bold new public art engagement and conservation initiative, made possible by an anonymous $1 million challenge grant. Honoring the List’s lasting impact while broadening and energizing its base of supporters, the 1:1 challenge invites the List’s community to match the grant. 

Together, these investments will strengthen the visibility, longevity, and educational reach of more than sixty major works of art on campus—the Boston area’s only free outdoor sculpture park. This builds on a long tradition of collaborations among artists and architects, from I.M. Pei and Scott Burton, Richard Fleischner, and Kenneth Noland, to recent commissions with SANAA and Sanford Biggers, and NADAAA with Agnieszka Kurant.

Welded Cor-Ten steel sculpture featuring a combination of rigid and organic shapes

Explore 40 Years of the List Visual Arts Center

Discover the milestones that have shaped the List Center through our 40th Anniversary Timeline, an evolving digital record tracing key moments in the museum’s history—from the Hayden Gallery era to the founding of the List in 1985 and beyond.

In spring 2026, a complementary archival installation in the List Center atrium will present rarely seen photographs, documents, and materials from the institution’s early years, offering a closer look at the origins of the Wiesner Building and the List Center’s founding vision.

Black and white photograph of an aerial view os a large black abstract geometric sculpture. There is a person walking beside the sculpture.

Honoring the Visionaries Who Shaped the List Center

To celebrate forty years of leadership and innovation, the List Center has established an Honorary Board of Advisors, recognizing artists, architects, and former directors whose contributions have guided the museum’s evolution and influenced its mission. Their perspectives strengthen the List Center’s role as a hub for contemporary inquiry and interdisciplinary exchange.

A woman with short white hair and a plaid shirt sits with a cream curly-haired dog on her lap in an art gallery. A vibrant installation featuring colorful ribbons and a large screen with abstract images is in the background.

40th Anniversary Archival Timeline