Arts First
Arts First is a celebration held at Harvard University each May that includes performances or shows involving virtually every musical, theatrical, and artistic group on campus. It was founded by alum John Lithgow in 1994 as a festival honoring the enormous artistic community at Harvard, and has since grown each year to include hundreds of performances.
Harvard Arts Medal
The Harvard Arts Medal[1] was established in 1995 to recognize excellence and demonstrated achievement in the arts by a Harvard or Radcliffe alumnus/a or faculty member. The medal is given to an individual who has achieved distinction in the arts and who has made a special contribution to the good of the arts, to the public good in relation to the arts, or to education. It is awarded by the Office of Governing Boards and the President of Harvard at the recommendation of a committee of faculty, alumni and administrators, which is convened by the OFA.
'Award Recipients'
| Arts Medal Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Matt Damon '92 |
| 2012 | Tommy Lee Jones '69 |
| 2011 | Susan Meiselas EdM ’71 |
| 2010 | Catherine Lord '70 |
| 2009 | Fred Ho '79 and John Ashbery '49 |
| 2008 | Joshua Redman '91 |
| 2007 | John Adams ’69 MA ‘72 |
| 2006 | Christopher Durang ‘71 |
| 2005 | Maxine Kumin ‘46 |
| 2004 | Yo-Yo Ma ‘76 |
| 2003 | Mira Nair ‘79 |
| 2002 | William Christie ‘66 |
| 2001 | Peter Sellars ‘80 |
| 2000 | John Harbison ‘60 |
| 1999 | David Hays ‘52 |
| 1998 | John Updike ‘54 |
| 1997 | Bonnie Raitt ‘72 |
| 1996 | Pete Seeger ‘40 |
| 1995 | Jack Lemmon ‘47 |