What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 12pm - 6pm Wednesday 12pm - 7pm Thursday 12pm - 7pm Friday 12pm - 6pm Saturday 12pm - 6pm Sunday 12pm - 6pm

MIT List Visual Arts Center

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MIT List Visual Arts Center

The MIT List Visual Arts Center is respected as one of the most significant university art galleries. The contemporary art museum at MIT.

12/23/2024

Happy Holidays from the List Center! ❄️

The List Center galleries will be open limited hours December 23, 2024 through January, 2, 2025.

Holiday Hours:
Monday, December 23: closed
Tuesday, December 24: closed
Wednesday, December 25: closed
Thursday, December 26: open 12–7 PM
Friday, December 27: open 12–6 PM
Saturday, December 28: open 12–6 PM
Sunday, December 29: open 12–6 PM

Monday, December 30: closed
Tuesday, December 31: open 12–3 PM
Wednesday, January 1: closed
Thursday, January 2: open 12–7 PM

12/21/2024

“Allvision” (1976) is a sculptural installation that comprises two cameras on a turntable slowly circumnavigating a central reflective orb. The two camera feeds, shown on monitors nearby, show the entirety of the space.

Steina describes the sphere as: “the most perfect form on earth, or in the universe maybe. There’s so much of it. It’s everywhere—in us, in our bodies, and outside us. You’re always dealing with it—galaxies, or flowers. … A ring is already a very magical form, but when the ring turns three-dimensional, begins to rotate, becomes an orbit—I can’t think of anything more beautiful.”

Stop by the galleries this weekend to see this work and the entire exhibition in person!

Pictured: Exhibition view: "Steina: Playback," MIT List Visual Arts Center, 2024. Photo: Dario Lasagni

12/13/2024

Are you in need of an Art Break?

We invite members of the MIT community to take a break from studying for finals with a self-guided paper-folding activity at the List Center during our gallery hours.

Drop by our lobby space to spend a few minutes (or the afternoon) following the activity prompts, while enjoying a cup of tea as a form of self-care during this stressful time. All art materials will be provided, as well as a selection of hot tea.

Take, gift, or leave your creations!

Drop-in Wednesday, December 18 and Thursday, December 19 anytime from 12–7 PM.

12/11/2024

The season of “Steina: Playback”:

🎶 150 watts drawn
50 CRT monitors
35 lbs of equipment
12 video projectors
3 galleries activated
And an artist presenting pathbreaking video art! 🎶

Visit the List Center to discover more.

12/09/2024

“Magic is an ancient practice rooted in rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural world. I would like to argue that science and magic are not as much at odds with each other as we tend to think. I might even describe the experience of discovering the science behind our myths as magical.”
–Science journalist Matt Kaplan, Science of the Magical

In collaboration with Catalyst Communications, the MIT List Visual Arts Center presents an evening with Magician Zoe Reiches and Professor of Anthropology Graham Jones who will explore the continued fascination with magic, as both practitioners of magic and those who think about it, in all its many forms.

The event will take place Wednesday, December 11 at 6 PM.
REGISTER: https://listart.mit.edu/calendar/catalyst-conversations-why-we-need-magic

12/06/2024

Thank you Bill Thompson for stopping by to view your newly restored work!

When asked about his process, Thompson explains, “It's called oxbow because it represents a bend in the river. I came up with the design first and then the title afterwards.

But one of my concerns when I was designing the piece was that I wanted it to associate, in some way, with biology, with nature. So once I came up with the identity that this was a bend in a river, even though it looks like a wall, there was that sort of subtle tie-in.

I'm a sculptor now, but at that time I regarded the paintings, the paint, the color as objects. And during that phase, I was starting to suggest a third dimension. So it was still a two-dimensional piece, but I was leaning towards three dimensions. And hence, the illusion of this wall sort of poking out, slipping back in.”

Thompson’s “Oxbow” (1995) is on view in MIT’s Koch Biology Building, Bldg. 68.

12/04/2024

Thank you Artforum and Helen Miller for featuring “Steina: Playback” as a Critic’s Pick.

From Miller: “More than anything, the show remains tethered to human vision—the work is not alienating or hallucinatory. Unlike, say, the infrared views of Bruce Nauman’s “Mapping the Studio I (Fat Chance John Cage),” 2001, or Vera Lutter’s large-scale, black-and-white negative photographs, Steina puts herself into her art.”

Stop by the galleries to experience “Steina: Playback” in person and visit the link below to read the full interview!

READ MORE: https://www.artforum.com/events/helen-miller-on-steina-1234723030/

12/02/2024

Your spot is waiting! 🎟️

REGISTER: https://listart.mit.edu/calendar/videosound-performance-andrew-neumann

Join the List Center and Art, Culture, and Technology program at MIT for an evening of experimental sound and visual performance.

“The Predictability of Unpredictability*…,” a performance by Andrew Neumann, originally conceived as a small system designed for solo improvisation, has for the past year been going through a series of new permutations; sonically, structurally, and physically.

This event is in conjunction with current exhibition: “Steina: Playback.”

Pictured: Steina, “Orbital Obsessions,” 1975–77 (still). Single-channel video, with sound; 24:24 min. Courtesy the artist and BERG Contemporary, Reykjavík

11/27/2024

The List Center will close today, Wednesday, November 27 at 3PM and remain closed on Thursday, November 28 for Thanksgiving.

While the galleries are closed, download our digital guide, available on , the free arts and culture app, to learn more about the public artworks around MIT’s campus.

Use the interactive map to discover the array of installations near you!

11/21/2024

Join Manaswi Mishra, a PhD candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab for a conversation around Steina: Playback.

Manaswi will demonstrate a radical way of using voice and gesture to shape music using AI models in a live performance as a method to better understand Steina’s experimental analog manipulations of sound and signal since the 1970s.

11/21/2024

Tonight! Join Manaswi Mishra, a PhD candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, for a conversation around “Steina: Playback” at 5:30 PM.

He will share insights into his research within the Opera of the Future, a research group focused on building new AI musical instruments for live performance in operas, symphonies, and beyond.

Register or attend virtually via the link in our bio.

11/13/2024

Coming from a world of music, exhibiting artist Steina brings qualities of play and performance to her approach to composition and the real-time interfacing of musical instruments and video imaging tools.

THURSDAY, NOV 21 | Join us at 5:30 PM to hear from Manaswi Mishra, a PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, as he discusses Steina's work in dialogue with his research on the use of voice and gesture to shape music through AI models.

Attend the virtual livestream → https://fb.me/e/46yi5HIzz

11/12/2024

The List Center congratulates pioneering video and performing artist Joan Jonas upon being awarded the prestigious Nam June Paik Prize from the Nam June Paik Art Center!

Joan Jonas represented the United States at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, where she presented the multimedia installation piece, “They Come to US without a Word,” commissioned by the MIT List Visual Arts Center.

Learn more about Jonas’ presentation and practice on our website.

Pictured: Portrait of Joan Jonas. Photo: Tony Coulson

11/07/2024

Join Nikhil Singh, a PhD candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab for a conversation around Steina: Playback.

Nikhil Singh will discuss the many relationships that exist in nature and can be made to exist in art between sound and image through the lens of Steina’s video works presented in the space.

11/07/2024

Nikhil Singh, a PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab's Opera of the Future group, focuses his research work on human-AI interaction and multimodal machine learning across application areas including creative, immersive, and informational media, with a special interest in sound.

In discussion with “Steina: Playback,” Singh will explore how machines interpret and transform these sensory signals and what this might mean for perception, expression, and technology.

Interested in learning more? Join us this Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 5:30 PM. This event is both in-person and will be live streamed virtually on our page.

Pictured: Steina, "Summer Salt," 1982 (still). Single-channel video, with sound; 19:10 min. Courtesy the artist and BERG Contemporary, Reykjavík

11/04/2024

Catch up on our recent panel discussion, Steina In Conversation, live on our YouTube channel!

Hear from Steina herself, the pioneering media artist whose work traverses video, music, and technology through a commitment to spontaneity and play.

The conversation, in conjunction with “Steina: Playback,” is led by Natalie Bell, List Center Curator, and joined by Chris Hill, media curator, and Gloria Sutton, Associate Professor at Northeastern University.

Watch now: https://youtu.be/r3wpIkYA5uo?si=So7-0K5BirHTc4Rc

10/30/2024

Tonight at 6PM, join us for the dedication of “Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More” by Julian Charrière. This program is in celebration of one of the latest additions to MIT’s Public Art Collection.

Julian Charrière works in multiple mediums creating elegant conceptual works of art. This is a site-specific work that will serve as the new lobby and grand entryway to the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, the Environmental Solutions Initiative, and the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program.

Register: https://listart.mit.edu/calendar/artist-talk-julian-charriere

Pictured: Portrait of Julian Charrière, 2017. Photo: Studio Julian Charrière

Address

20 Ames Street Building E15, Atrium Level
Cambridge, MA
02142

Opening Hours

Tuesday	12pm - 6pm
Wednesday	12pm - 7pm
Thursday	12pm - 7pm
Friday	12pm - 6pm
Saturday	12pm - 6pm
Sunday	12pm - 6pm

Telephone

(617) 253-4680

Website

https://listart.mit.edu/

Alerts

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Videos

Graduate Student Talk: Manaswi Mishra

Join Manaswi Mishra, a PhD candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab for a conversation around Steina: Playback. Manaswi will demonstrate a radical way of using voice and gesture to shape music using AI models in a live performance as a method to better understand Steina’s experimental analog manipulations of sound and signal since the 1970s.

Coming from a world of music, exhibiting artist Steina brings qualities of play and performance to her approach to composition and the real-time interfacing of musical instruments and video imaging tools. THURSDAY, NOV 21 | Join us at 5:30 PM to hear from Manaswi Mishra, a PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, as he discusses Steina's work in dialogue with his research on the use of voice and gesture to shape music through AI models. Attend the virtual livestream → https://fb.me/e/46yi5HIzz

Graduate Student Talk: Nikhil Singh

Join Nikhil Singh, a PhD candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab for a conversation around Steina: Playback. Nikhil Singh will discuss the many relationships that exist in nature and can be made to exist in art between sound and image through the lens of Steina’s video works presented in the space.

Graduate Student Talk: Daniel Pillis

Join D. Pillis, an M.S. candidate in the Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab for a conversation around List Projects 30: Jeremy Couillard. Feel free to navigate to the link below, which will be referenced during the talk. https://bit.ly/3Y4lW19

Graduate Student Talk: Brittany Ellis

Join Brittany Ellis, a PhD candidate in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and the History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture and Art Programs at MIT for a conversation around Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme: Only sounds that tremble through us.

Graduate Student Talk: Ghida Anouti

Join Ghida Anouti, a Master of Science candidate in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT for a conversation around Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou Rahme: Only sounds that tremble through us.

Explore public art and architecture across MIT’s campus today!

Looking for a reason to get outside today? Explore the public art and architecture across MIT’s campus ☀️ Use our Mobile Public Art Guide to choose from a variety of self-guided tours and learn more about the collection, including Frank Gehry’s 713,000-square-foot Ray and Maria Stata Center (Building 32). Arguably one of the most audacious, iconic buildings on MIT’s campus, the Stata Center is a cacophony of structural elements wedged, pushed, toppled, and fused into one another. Start exploring: https://listart.mit.edu/visit/public-art-map Pictured: Ray and Maria Stata Center, Frank Gehry, 2004. Video Credit: DronePros.net. Courtesy MIT Image Library

Graduate Student Talk: Soala Lolia Ajienka

Join Soala Lolia Ajienka, a Master of Architecture candidate in the Department of Architecture at MIT for a conversation around Carlos Reyes: 18.

Graduate Student Talk: Maria Gabriela Carucci

Join Maria Gabriela Carucci, a Master of Science candidate in the Department of Architecture + Urbanism at MIT for a conversation around List Projects 28: Sophie Friedman-Pappas and TJ Shin.

Happy New Year from the List Center!

Ending 2023 with a shimmering celebration of art ✨ From all of us at the List Center, we wish you a happy holiday season and an art-filled New Year! We look forward to seeing you in the galleries in 2024. Pictured: Spencer Finch, “Bring me the sunset in a cup,” 2023 (detail). MIT Percent-for-Art Commission

Flurries and new banners spotted on the plaza! ❄️ We are looking forward to the year ahead filled with lots of art and engaging programs at the List Center. In the meantime while the galleries are closed, spend the holiday week exploring public art around campus and check out our new street banners. Let us know what else Art Makes You? Holiday Gallery Hours ⤵️ Sunday, December 24: Closed Monday, December 25: Closed Tuesday, December 26: 12–6 PM Wednesday, December 27: 12–7 PM Thursday, December 28: 12–7 PM Friday, December 29: 12–6 PM Saturday, December 30: 12–6 PM Sunday, December 31: 12–3 PM Monday, January 1: Closed