Arts & Culture

Explore Harvard’s vibrant arts scene—from campus exhibitions and theater to cultural analysis and literary reviews. Discover how creativity shapes the Harvard experience.

scissors cutting a paper with Harvard shields on a dotted line

Harvard in the Crosshairs |

Harvard Layoffs Continue, with More to Come

In the wake of federal government actions, several Harvard schools and institutes are cutting costs.

by Jonathan Shaw

Arts & Culture |

Up Close (Virtually) with the Forbes Pigment Collection

Harvard’s world-famous collection of colors can now be enjoyed from home. 

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Photograph of the cover of To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes

Books & Literary Life |

See Their Faces

Confronting “some of the most challenging images in the history of photography”

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Majestic twentieth-century stone castle perched on Gloucester coastline

Harvard Squared | November-December 2020

A Man and His Castle

Gothic surroundings, spiritualism, and science: Hammond Castle Museum’s eclectic appeal

by Nell Porter-Brown

Photograph of Edo era fan depicting Mount Fuji and Mount Tsukuba on alternate sides

Treasure | November-December 2020

An Auspicious View

This folding fan enfolds two sacred mountains.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Portrait photograph of a middle-aged Lorenzo Tañada as a Philippine senator

Features | November-December 2020

Lorenzo Tañada

Brief life of a Philippine patriot: 1898-1992

by Christopher Capozzola

Black and white photo of a group of Vietnamese children, titled “Schoolchildren Playing Cards”

Montage | November-December 2020

Finding Other Streets

Photographer Mark Erickson on the Vietnam he never knew

by Dan Kelly

Dan Chiasson at home in front of a “sometimes delightful, sometimes disturbing” mural by David Teng Olsen, which appears in The Math Campers.

Montage | November-December 2020

“To Break Our Own Rules”

Poet-critic Dan Chiasson and The Math Campers

by Lydialyle Gibson

Black-and-white photograph of Karl Puchner in 1937 with his wife, young son, and a tiny, barely visible swastika button on his jacket

Montage | November-December 2020

Family History

A German American scholar is unsettled by an ancestor’s secret.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Photograph of cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie from the book “Science and Cooking”

Montage | November-December 2020

Off the Shelf

Recent books with Harvard connections

Claude Monet's painting of clouds, fields, and poplars

Harvard Squared | November-December 2020

Hip-Hop Art and French Innovators

Winter exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts

by Nell Porter-Brown