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.

rendered portraits of the Alma Mater and John Harvard statues against the White House in the background

Harvard in the Crosshairs |

International Scholars and Students Targeted—Again

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces fresh investigation into Harvard’s participation in the Exchange Visitor Program.

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