Calling it "the first opportunity for undergraduate MIT artists in all disciplines to develop their own community," Associate Provost for the Arts Alan Brody has joined the Council for the Arts at MIT in announcing a new Arts Scholars Program.
The program is the brainstorm of Professor Brody, who perceived a need for a "sense of community" among MIT undergraduates who are active -- but perhaps somewhat isolated -- within their various artistic disciplines, including music, theater, writing, architecture, visual arts and media arts.
Developed along the lines of the Burchard Scholars Program, the Arts Scholars Program will be structured around informal monthly dinners accompanied by presentations or excursions. Presentations may be given by faculty members, artists-in-residence, fellow students or Boston-area artists. Excursions may include off-campus performances, gallery, museum and behind-the-scenes tours.
In the 10 years he's been at MIT, Professor Brody said he's seen student participation "develop toward a critical mass and, at the same time, grow more and more sophisticated." His hope is that the program, funded by the Council for the Arts at MIT, will demonstrate ongoing support for students' commitment to the arts, encourage interaction and collaboration with fellow student and faculty artists, and help them "address issues that are the most burning for them."
Participation is open for up to 30 students who will be sophomores, juniors and seniors when the program begins in September 1998. The application deadline is April 13. Application forms and guidelines are available in Rm E15-205 and Rm 3-234. For more information, call x3-4005.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 11, 1998.
