Jaume Plensa, Alchemist, 2010. Commissioned by an anonymous alumnus on the occasion of the Institute’s 150th anniversary. © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. Photo: Gretchen Ertl. Image courtesy MIT Image Library
Public Art Tour
August 11, 2023
Join MIT List Visual Arts Center on a public art walking tour showcasing the MIT public art collection across the west side of campus. View select artworks and consider how art and the architectural environment have enhanced MITs campus design on this tour featuring renowned contemporary artists such as Beverly Pepper, Jaume Plensa and Matt Johnson.
MIT’s Percent-for-Art Program, administered by the List Visual Arts Center, now allocates up to $500,000 to commission art for each new major renovation or campus construction project. The policy was formally instituted in 1968, but earlier collaborations between artists and architects can be found on MIT’s campus. When architect Eero Saarinen designed the MIT Chapel in 1955, sculptor Theodore Roszak designed the Bell Tower and sculptor Harry Bertoia designed the Altarpiece. In 1985, architect I.M. Pei and artists Scott Burton, Kenneth Noland, and Richard Fleischner collaborated on Percent-for-Art projects for the Wiesner Building and plaza, home to the MIT List Visual Arts Center and the Media Laboratory.
This program is weather dependent. Registered attendees will receive an email the day before the tour date if needed to cancel due to weather conditions.