Eliot House will sponsor a major new program in the performing and creative arts for its residents beginning next year.

Alan Heimert '39, master of Eliot House, said yesterday that a "generous commitment from a most loyal alumnus" will make it possible for the House to devise a program of instruction in many artistic fields.

The arts program will also include improvements in the House's physical facilities and the purchase of new equipment, Heimert said.

Sources said the program may cost about $20,000 a year.

But Heimert said the specific amount will depend upon the form the program ultimately takes.

The House yesterday asked its residents to fill out a questionnaire to determine areas of student interest and suggestions for needed equipment.

Heimert said the program is intended to give people an opportunity to participate in a "relaxed, communal setting. I see it as an analogue to intramural athletics."

The idea is being tried in part to try to come up with a "blueprint for expanding it elsewhere," Heimert said.

Allan J. Newmark '50, an Eliot House alumnus, will contribute the money for the program, sources said yesterday. Newmark, a New York attorney, is out of the country and unavailable for comment.

Heimert stated that current plans call for the program to last several years, rather than indefinitely.

Peter A. Carfagna '75, president of the Eliot House Committee, said that the program will be designed to provide basic instruction for newcomers to a subject. People with experience will be encouraged to teach courses.

Carfagna said that the program will give top priority to Eliot House residents. He said that some courses will probably not be open at all to members of the Harvard community as a whole.

Carfagna added that the program would help encourage diversity in Eliot's student body by attracting freshmen interested in arts and crafts.