{shortcode-39f19ead16ec05ab5091499246143757d3af5eb5}Dear Arts readers (or as Ha likes to say, Arts baes),

With elation and excitement, we present to you our special spring issue of 2016—the first of its kind, our new endeavour into the world of themed supplements. In the process of brainstorming our theme for the issue, we knew we wanted to cover “underground art,” the parts of the arts scene within Harvard and around Cambridge that our publication often neglects. But that topic by itself felt vague, even nebulous. After many discussions among the board in the confines of the Arts office, we finally came to the right questions. Namely, we’re always interested in the activities of our students in clubs and organizations, but what of the academics? What if you took “extracurricular” and crossed out the “extra”?

The result is the product you see before you. Whether you’re holding it in your hands in its physical form or scrolling through it on the screen of your phone, we’re incredibly excited to share this supplement with you. Be sure to take a moment to check out our spotlights on a couple of student theses—both completed and in development—to learn about graffiti, hula dancing, virtual reality, and the surprising power of rap and animation. Immerse yourself in the long-established Department of Visual and Environmental Studies and the newly-minted concentration in Theater, Dance, and Media. Let the Arts board ask the right questions to the right people for you. And definitely read our feature on Professor Peter L. Galison and our in-depth coverage of the music track of the applied mathematics concentration to discover the often-unexpected link between the sciences and the arts.

In fact, we call this supplement “The Creative Classroom” because we believe in emphasizing such connections among fields, in finding and crossing the interdisciplinary bridges that comprise the hidden gems of the College. In this issue you won’t find us looking at film, at visual arts, at music, at theater, but instead at the spaces in between.

Before we leave you to read through our work, we’d like to thank all of our execs, writers, and compers for their time and dedication; our predecessors and dinos for their support; our designers for their beautiful print illustrations and work; our design execs Uju S. Nwosu ’17 and Tiffany K. Lam ’18 and our multimedia exec Katherine L. Borrazzo ’18 for all that they have contributed to helping us develop amazing designs and acquire stunning photos; and Managing Editor Meg P. Bernhard '17 and President Mariel A. Klein '17 for working with us throughout this semester to ensure the quality of our online and printed Arts content.

With all our (Arts) love,

Ha D.H. Le ’17 and Victoria Lin ’17
Arts Chairs, 143rd Guard