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.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Ray & Maria Stata Center

0.11 MILES

The Stata Center for Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) was designed by the renowned architect, Frank Gehry. Like something out…

3. MIT Museum

0.49 MILES

Only the mischief-makers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) would come up with the kind of quirky stuff that's on display here. An exhibit on…

4. Charles River Esplanade

0.64 MILES

The southern bank of the Charles River Basin is an enticing urban escape, with grassy knolls and cooling waterways, all designed by Frederick Law Olmsted…

5. Gibson House Museum

0.86 MILES

Catherine Hammond Gibson was considered quite the pioneer when she moved to this Italian Renaissance row house in 1860 (that she was a female homeowner in…

6. Guild of Boston Artists

0.88 MILES

This is a long-standing artistic cooperative, dating to 1914. Due to its emphasis on representational painting and sculpture, it's a bit stodgy compared…

7. Copley Society of Art

0.89 MILES

Dating to 1879, CoSo is the country's oldest nonprofit art association, with more than 500 members. The showings in the three exhibit spaces are rich and…

8. Citgo Sign

0.91 MILES

London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower and Boston has the Citgo sign. It’s an unlikely landmark in this high-minded city, but Bostonians love the…