The stated goal of the List Center is to explore the boundaries of artistic inquiry – to use art to ask questions, not only about aesthetics, but also about culture, society and, of course, science. Rotating exhibits push the contemporary art envelope in painting, sculpture, photography, video and just about every other medium imaginable.
This is also where you can pick up a map of MIT’s public art, proof enough that this university supports artistic as well as technological innovation. The university’s progressive Percent-for-Art program requires that a certain percentage of every building project budget be earmarked for art acquisitions, which explains the dozens of sculptures, murals and other striking displays dotted around campus.