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V AROUND THE INSTITUTE
Radcliffe Day, May 31,2013
The morning panel, “From Artist
to Audience,” found a fitting home on
the beach party–inspired set of the
A.R.T. revival of Pirates of Penzance, a
production newly adapted and directed
by the incoming Radcliffe fellow Sean
Graney RI ’14. As Radcliffe Dean Liza-
beth Cohen noted in her introductory
remarks, “What better test could there
be of the obstacles to be overcome in
moving art from artist to audience”
The panel, which featured five
Radcliffe-affi
ffiliated artists, celebrated
Radcliffe’s long and vibrant association
with the arts and addressed the challenges
that artists face in contemporary
society.
At the lunch in Radcliffe Yard, Dean
Cohen awarded the Radcliffe Medal to
the actor Jane Alexander, whom she
called “a warrior for the arts.” Cohen
recognized Alexander for “her critically
acclaimed acting roles in films,
theater, and television and her passionate
advocacy for the arts as head of the
National Endowment for the Arts from
1993 to 1997.”
“On this day, when we celebrate
the arts at Radcliffe, we also celebrate
the talent and accomplishments of a
remarkable woman whose life’s work
has touched us all,” Cohen said.
Alexander said she felt especially
honored to receive the Radcliffe Medal
because of her past. After attending
Sarah Lawrence College for two years
and spending her junior year at the
University of Edinburgh—where she
“sowed many wild oats,” as she put it,
but didn’t do well in school—her father
insisted she apply to Radcliffe. When
she wasn’t accepted, she headed to
New York City with $40 in her pocket.
“I never got a college degree,” she said,
“but I did all right. So I thank you, Radcliffe.
Thank you for turning me down
and starting me on my career.”
ê More online at www.radcliffe.harvard.edu.
The day celebrated
the arts—from the
breakfast where
Radcliffe fellow Lydia
Diamond described
working on plays
at the Institute to
the lunch where
Radcliffe Medalist
Jane Alexander
advocated exploring
the arts to encourage
creativity.
Drew Faust, Jane Alexander,
and Lizabeth Cohen
Jane Alexander
As moderator, Diane Paulus ’88, artistic
director of the American Repertory
Theater, conveyed a question from
the audience: What moves the artist
panelists forward when they get stuck
The photographer and architect Mark
Robbins RI ’03: “I leave it and take a
walk.” The painter Beverly McIver RI
’03: “I take a vacation and chill.” The
composer Augusta Read Thomas BI ’91:
“I know when my pieces are finished
when I can sleep through the night.”
The poet, essayist, and playwright
Elizabeth Alexander RI ’08: “I get
unstuck by looking at work that’s not
in my medium.”
12 radcliffe magazine Summer 2013 Photographs by Tony Rinaldo