2 Best Sights in Massachusetts, USA

This gravity-defying mass of concrete and glass, built in 1963, is the only building in North America designed by the French architect Le Corbusier. It hosts Harvard's Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies, exhibition spaces, and the Harvard Film Archive, and is dedicated to artist-centered programming. The open floor plan provides students with five stories of flexible workspace, and the large, outward-facing windows ensure that the creative process is always visible and public. The center regularly holds free lectures, workshops, and receptions with artists.

At the top of the ramp, the Sert Gallery plays host to changing exhibits of contemporary works and has a café. The Main Gallery on the ground floor often showcases work by students and faculty. The Carpenter Center Bookshop, a collaboration with Berlin-based Motto Books, is one of the only local places to carry small-press contemporary art books, magazines, and journals, with an emphasis on international publications and limited-edition projects.

Founded by Albert and Vera List, pioneer collectors of modern art, this MIT center has three galleries showcasing exhibitions of cutting-edge art and mixed media. Works from the center's collection of contemporary art, such as Thomas Hart Benton's painting Fluid Catalytic Crackers and Harry Bertoia's altarpiece for the MIT Chapel, are on view here and around campus. The center's website includes a map indicating the locations of more than 20 of these public works of art.