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.

Wiesner Building (MIT Building E15) rendering designed by
I.M. Pei. Courtesy MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA

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.

Anniversary Programs and Performances

To mark its fortieth anniversary, the List Center highlighted its history through a series of special programs and celebrations.

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the List Center kicked off its public celebrations in conjunction with the opening of Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as Form, featuring performances by Irena Haiduk and Goldin+Senneby.

On Saturday, April 11, 2026, the List Center hosted a full day of performances and public programs, including two major performance works by Gordon Hall and Autumn Knight, gallery talks, anniversary activities, and a special reception with creative direction by Nayland Blake.

A man with a tie pointing at paint on a gallery wall while an audience watches.

List Center Director Paul Ha gives remarks from a set of stairs to a crowd. Next to Paul are two people toasting the occassion.

Two visitors look at a vitrine in a gallery. Behind the visitors is a large glass window, and over the window a string of text hangs and reads "I'm Sorry Mom". A man in a blue jacket is reading a wall label in the back.

Crowds reside on the first floor and lower level of the List Center. A person is walking up the steps. Colored lights glow throughout the space.

Bulletin boards hang in a dark walled gallery. On the bulletin boards hangs various ephemera. Five gallery visitors face the walls reviewing the content.

Two people site on a bench in front of two screens speaking to an audience sitting facing them.

A party atmosphere in a multi-level space with audience members sitting in chairs scattered around the room. Bright lights are scattered throughout the space. A woman wearing all black with money tacked to her shirt holds a microphone out to an audience member.

A crowd gathers in the List Center's lower atrium. Pink, yellow, and orange balloons in a cone-like structure dnagle from the ceiling over food on a table with a sequin table cloth. Other tables with yellow pink and orange table clothes are scattered throughout the space.

Public Art Conservation & Engagement Initiative

Over the next year, 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

From March through August, 2026, a complementary archival installation in the List Center atrium presents 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.

Can’t make it to the List Center this year? Discover the milestones that have shaped the List Center through our 40th Anniversary Timeline, an evolving digital record, and hear from enduring voices with our List Center at 40: Oral Histories, tracing key moments in the museum’s history—from the Hayden Gallery era to the founding of the List in 1985 and beyond.

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

La Grande Voile [The Big Sail], Alexander Calder. Courtesy MIT Museum

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.

Joan Jonas in her exhibition They Come to Us without a Word in the US Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. Photo by Moira Ricci

With Gratitude to Our Staff

As the List Center marks its 40th anniversary, we honor the dedicated staff—past and present—whose vision, care, and hard work have shaped its enduring legacy.

List Center Staff

Nancy Adams
Benjamin Adams
Susie Allen
Jamin An
Bill Arning
Jill Aszling
Julie Barr
Natalie Bell
Rebecca Bennett
Eve Berne
Kevin Bouchard
Aaron Bowles
Susan Bright
Cree Bruins
Marina Caron
Kelly Chen
Lucy Chen
Jianna Christopher
Caitlin Clancy
Fabia Closson
Susan Cohen
Cynthia Col
Elyse Cusick
Jeffrey De Blois
Lisa DeLong
Christine Desmond
Sabrina Detmar
Erika Deutsch
Toni Elka
Jane Farver
Neill Fearnley
Magda Fernandez
James Figueiredo
Jeremiah Foster
David Freilach
Dana Friis-Hansen
Patricia Fuller
Erica Gaeta
Beth Galston
Iziar Garcia
Frances Garelick
Emily Garner
Adric Giles
Gary Gogel
Kathleen Goncharov
Kate Guiney
Paul C. Ha
Tessa Haas
Kathy Halbreich
Alison Hatcher
Ellen Hinsey
Chris Hoodlet
Johannes Horn
Henriette Huldisch
Jennifer Johnson
Kristin Johnson
Jameson Johnson
Eleni Karotseri
Evan Kasle
Bryce Kauffman
Maura Keeler
Kathleen Keeler
Christopher Ketcham
Hiroko Kikuchi
Courtney Klemens
Katy Kline
Gwyneth Koeckhoven
Patrica Larkin Murray
Kennedy Lena Crestwell
Toby Levi
Sarah Lili Frey
Mark Linga
Tim Lloyd
Maria Lostumbo
Shawn Mahoney
Katharine McCagg
John McCauley
Sean Mooney
Hope Murphy
Tricia Murray
Taro Nettleton
Ramona Ngin
Selby Nimrod
Kimberly Nyce
Michael O’Connell
Sarah Oh
John Osorio-Buck
John Peitso
Barbra Pine
Ronald Platt
Terry Pollack
Elizabeth Ponce
Helaine Posner
Slandie Prinston
Susan Ramirez
Britt Raphling
John Rexine
Joao Ribas
Jennifer Riddell
Rosanne Rizzi
Pamela Robertson-Pearce
Jon Roll
Diane Rosenblum Kalik
Jane Royal
Barbara Rugg Diehl
Sharon Russell
Karen S. Fegley
Scott Schaeffer
Christopher Scheno
Jessica Schroeder
Katha Seidman
Amy Sideris
Theresa Silver
Carol Skricki
Kevin Smith
Monica Steinberg
David Stevens
Yuri Stone
Martinga Tanga
Amy Tarr
Deborah Thompson
Chloe Tomasetta
Claire Traweek
Rebecca Uchill
Elizabeth Ulanova
Alise Upitis
Lucille Vail
Daniel van Roekel
Marina Veronica
Shirley Villalobos
Leigh Waldron-Taylor
Kristen Wawruck
Ariana Webber
Suara Welitoff
Cassidy Westjohn
Adrienne Wetmore
Betsy Willett
Francesca Williams
Jackie Xu
Peter Zimmerman

*We apologize if your name is missing from the list. If you would like to be added, please reach out to mitlistarts [at] mit.edu.

List at 40 is supported by generous donors to the 2025 McDermott Award Gala, hosted by the Council for the Arts at MIT.

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