Community Building & Wellbeing

The arts have great benefits to our overall well being.  Research has shown, 45 minutes of creative activity can significantly lessen the stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent.  Additionally, stress levels and concentrations of cortisol decrease after just a 35-minute visit to a museum, and losing oneself in music and beholding art has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy by stimulating awe and wonder which promotes healthier levels of cytokines.

Our Student Advisory Council works with our staff to produce three programs in support of community building and wellbeing. To stay up to date on these programs and more, sign up for our weekly email and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Arts Insiders is coordinated by our student leaders from our Student Advisory Council; they select four exciting arts events in or around Boston each semester and students can sign up to attend.  Each semester there will be two audience events and two hands-on events with artists or arts organizations representing Boston’s rich cultural and artistic communities. Arts Insiders is a great way for students to meet new people and explore the Boston area. In the past students have been able to attend events like exhibitions, dance and theatre performances, and musicals, and participate in hands-on workshops like glass blowing, screen printing, and calligraphy. It is designed to allow students to meet small groups of peers with similar artistic interests. 

 

 

First Fridays are our once-a-month crafts event providing opportunities for BU students to relax and socialize at the end of the week while creating unique and individualized crafts like paper lanterns, plant pots, collage notebooks, and more. First Fridays are a partnership with Student Wellbeing and often other university partners. 

 

 

Study Break happens each semester during one of our reading day period,  the BU Arts Initiative provides a fun activity to allow students to get crafty and let their minds take a break from prepping for final exams. Activities in the past have included origami, coloring, stenciling, and keychain making. Bring your friends and make new ones for a final send-off before the semester ends. 

Art for 5  is a program designed to create more equity in the arts and allow students to experience opportunities that may not be as financially accessible. Every semester the BU Arts Initiative selects two major art events in the community and provides tickets to these events for only five dollars to Boston University students. In the past our office has secured tickets to performances such as Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker, touring productions of Fun Home and Hadestown, Immersive VanGogh, and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Currently, these special tickets are solely announced on our Instagram page (@buartsinitiative). 

Gallery @ BU Arts Initiative is an opportunity where the BU Arts Initiative office space serves as a gallery for student work during the academic year and features the work of a Boston area artist over the summer. Students and visitors are welcome to visit our office to see these works in person or view the works virtually here.

Drop-in/Takeaway Crafts are fun and simple art projects available to students all semester. Stop in our office any time we are open and grab a craft bag, enjoy it in our office suite or take it with you.