Innovation in the arts
A crowd of Harvard faculty members and alumni judges watched intently Thursday as a College student, a Loeb fellow, and three students in the Graduate School of Design declared that the days of art being confined to galleries, centers, and opera houses were over. Instead, they said, they see the potential for cities’ public spaces to be transformed into performance spaces, contending that the challenge lies in connecting with the millions of people who attend and appreciate citywide events and festivals. This vision is what captivated the judges and landed the group $30,000 and the grand prize in the Deans’ Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge. “We operate in a world in which the arts have to prove their economic viability and be sustainable other than relying on government funding,” Loeb Fellow Helen Marriage said. “We need to be able to connect with this younger, diverse audience.” She joined teammates Judy Fulton, Hokan Wong, and Wes...