Harvard Student-Hosted Art Show Opens In Allston for Second Year

Over 700 attendees admired student artwork adorning the walls and listened to performances at the Ed Portal in Allston as part of the opening reception for a Harvard student-hosted art show Saturday.

For the second year running, the Harvard Student Art Collective—the student group that organizes the show—collaborated with the Ed Portal and the Ceramics Program to put on the event.

Now in its tenth year, the show features over 100 pieces of artwork stemming from a variety of artistic disciplines and produced by students representing seven of Harvard’s schools. The exhibit will last five weeks, running through "ARTS FIRST," the University’s arts festival which will run April 26-29.

During the reception, student curators led tours of the exhibit while attendees from Harvard and Allston pondered the art and student performances.

Dasha Bough ’21, who displayed work in the show, wrote in an email Sunday that she thought opening night was filled with “intense excitement” that encouraged student experimentation and celebrated art.

“The curation in and of itself is beautiful. It’s accessible in a way that leads you comfortably through the space, but nuanced enough to give every viewer a unique experience,” she wrote.

Sophie Kissinger ’18, one of the co-directors of the Harvard Student Art Collective, wrote in an email Sunday she was “thrilled” with opening night of the show.

“Last night really felt like a meeting of the minds for the Harvard artistic community. The performances were absolutely vibrant, and the work sparked a ton of interesting conversation,” Kissinger wrote. “Our hope is that it inspired people to hold more events that bring people at and around Harvard together to celebrate student art.”

The student art show debuted ten years ago in the Science Center Plaza, before moving to 29 Garden, the Cambridge Trust Company, and then, the Center for Government and International Studies Knafel basement. Organizers held the event at the Ed Portal for the first time last year.

As part of the show’s planning process, a committee of students hailing from throughout the University reviewed submissions from 95 artists and whittled the choices down to pieces from 45 artists.

Bough wrote that she submitted work “to free myself of my perfectionism by seizing opportunities for exposure and criticism.” At the show, she displayed a sand art film on the Cold War titled “Boiling Point,” a stop-motion film titled “We Do Not Know,” and a pastel portrait of a young man.

Founded in 2008, the Ed Portal hosts a number of educational programs open to local residents, including 35 arts and culture events this year geared toward people of all ages. Future events include a workshop on mini matinees for middle school students and a class on writing and illustrating fairy tales for elementary school students slated for April 7.

—Staff writer Truelian Lee can be reached at truelian.lee@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @truelian_lee.

—Staff writer Jacqueline P. Patel can be reached at jacqueline.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @jppatel99.