Join policy makers, urban designers, and artists in Boston and Cambridge for a discussion about the future of public art!

Public art has the potential to make a community a more vibrant and welcoming place. Free and accessible to all, it also has the power to provoke debate about our shared cultural experience. As engaged citizens call for the removal of certain public monuments that evoke harmful systems, the conversation about the role of public art in our communities gains momentum.

On October 5, join City of Boston Chief of Arts & Culture Kara Elliott-Ortega...

“What college does, it helps us learn about the nation,” said Rodney Spivey-Jones, a 2017 Bard College graduate currently incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility in New York, in the docuseries College behind Bars. “It helps us become civic beings. It helps us understand that we have an interest in our community, that our community is a part of us and we are a part of it.”

The Bard Prison Initiative and programs at other institutions of higher learning across the country have brought together teachers and learners in incarcerated spaces for years. This panel will gather...

By the early 1980s, a new political landscape was taking shape that would fundamentally influence American society and politics in the decades to come. That year, the long-standing effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment—championed by suffragist Alice Paul and introduced to Congress in 1923—ran aground, owing in significant measure to the activism of women who pioneered a new brand of conservatism.

This panel will draw together strands and stories that are often kept separate: the ideas and growing influence of conservative women, the political activism of gay communities...

Although Massachusetts formally abolished slavery in 1783, the visible and invisible presence of slavery continued in the Commonwealth and throughout New England well into the 19th century. Harvard professor Louis Agassiz’s theory about human origins is but one example of the continued presence and institutionalization of racism in the North.

Taking as a starting point the new book To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes, this panel of experts will examine the role and impact of slavery in the North and discuss the influence...

The passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 did not "give" women the vote. Rather, it established a negative: that the right to vote could not be abridged on account of sex alone. This session brings together diverse participants who will each illuminate one facet of women’s political history at this key transitional moment. Together, participants will emphasize the radical achievement of the amendment, exploring the full implications of what it meant to remove sex as a barrier to voting, which resulted in the largest-ever one-time expansion of the electorate and mobilized a...

Each ARTS FIRST festival is unique, but every year combines the exuberance of Harvard students, faculty and affiliates who are passionate about the many art forms presented in four rousing days of performances, exhibitions and community.

Enjoy free, family-friendly performances, dance styles from around the world, public art walks, hands-on artmaking, and much more! We look forward to celebrating the artists of Harvard community with you during ARTS FIRST on May 2–5, 2019.

Events include:

• May 2,...

Please join the Harvard Business School Free Enterprise Club for an exclusive advance screening of the upcoming film The Pursuit. The film premieres in cities across America the week of April 28th, however we are pleased to provide you with an advance showing.

The Pursuit features Arthur Brooks as he crosses three continents in search of the secrets to a happier, more prosperous world, starting with those at the margins of society.

This screening will include an introduction and remarks by AEI President Arthur Brooks. Snacks and refreshments will be provided...

The Grammy-nominated string orchestra A Far Cry returns to the Harvard Ed Portal for an open rehearsal and discussion featuring violinist and former instructor Pamela Frank. Sections of A Far Cry’s upcoming concert Legacy will be previewed followed by a discussion of the piece’s mission to...

The two-day symposium will include panel discussions and scholarly presentations that showcase new research on Pei’s manifold contributions to the built environment. Notable alumni from Pei’s office, including William Pedersen, will discuss the emergence of a new kind of architectural practice in the postwar era.... Read more about Rethinking Pei: A Centenary Symposium