Speak a Powerful Magic: Ten Years of the Traveling Stanzas Poetry ProjectForeword by Naomi Shihab Nye This beautiful and moving book, featuring a representative collection of Traveling Stanzas poetry illustrations, celebrates the tenth anniversary of this award-winning community arts project. Launched in 2009 as a collaboration between Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center and Professor Valora Renicker’s visual communication design students, Traveling Stanzas pairs poems with striking graphic designs. The resulting images, in both print and digital forms, have been featured in galleries, in community spaces, in interactive media, and on regional and national mass transit. Speak a Powerful Magic...
Following an introduction to Chautauqua Institution’s new strategic plan, 150 Forward, President Michael E. Hill on Sunday morning tapped a historic gavel three times to officially open the Institution’s 146th Assembly. Hill’s “Three Taps” address, marking the traditional and formal start to a Chautauqua season, was titled “Walking the Tightrope Between History and Innovation,” and gave Chautauqua community members gathered a synopsis of the recently approved strategic plan, including a strong rebuke of hatred and bigotry. The remarks preceded the Institution’s popular Sunday worship service, which this particular morning featured a historic twist — for the first time at Chautauqua,...
Will Star Debra Messing and be Directed by Former CTC Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Borba and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, is pleased to announce that its 2017 New Play Workshop Birthday Candles by Noah Haidle will be opening on Broadway in 2019–2020 season. Former CTC artistic director Vivienne Benesch will direct the Broadway premiere at the Roundabout Theatre Company, and the production will star Debra Messing, best known for her lead role in the NBC television series “Will & Grace.” Birthday Candles was originally commissioned by Detroit Public Theater...
Term begins Oct. 1; Decision marks first time a woman will serve as chair At its quarterly business meeting today, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees elected as its next Chair Candace (Candy) Littell Maxwell of Wilmington, Delaware. Maxwell is a retired strategic advisor with more than 30 years of diverse experience in business leadership, governance, policy, and strategy. In October 2018, she completed eight years of service on the Institution’s Board of Trustees, during which time she served on the Board’s Special Committee on Amphitheater-Related Issues, on the Presidential Search Committee, and as Chair of the Audit Committee, as...
150 Forward to be made public in June, calls for bold new response At its quarterly business meeting today, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan for the Institution titled 150 Forward. The plan was developed over the past year and a half following wide community consultation, market research, and externally advised analysis. The plan will guide strategic decision making over the next 10 years, leading up to the Institution’s 150th anniversary in 2024 and beyond. Framed within the context of Chautauqua’s mission to “… explore the best in human values and the enrichment of life...
Chautauqua Institution today announced that it has signed on to the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy championed by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello. The MOA seeks to bring together lake agencies and organizations, as well as the municipalities located around Chautauqua Lake, so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms in the lake while being considerate of the lake and its watershed’s economic, recreational and ecological significance. Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill signed the MOA on the Institution’s behalf. “I proudly...
Author Will Give Public Lecture and Reading at Chautauqua Institution Chautauqua Institution is delighted to announce “Tree rings, like concentric ghosts” by My Tran as the 2019 winner of The Chautauqua Janus Prize. As the author selected from eight finalists by judge Vi Khi Nao, Tran receives $5,000, elevated this year from the original prize of $2,500, plus all travel and expenses for a summer residency at Chautauqua during the 2019 summer season. Tran will present a public lecture and reading at a celebratory event with music and refreshments at a date to be determined on the Institution’s grounds. Their writing...
Dear Chautauquans, We stand with Muslims around the world in grieving the acts of hatred and murder in Christchurch, New Zealand. Chautauqua Institution remains steadfast in its commitment to interfaith dialogue and engagement that build bridges and foster understanding across difference. Interfaith understanding doesn’t just happen — it takes work and study and face-to-face interactions with Muslims. That is why Chautauqua, through its Department of Religion, strives to bring leading Muslim voices to our 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture Series and our Interfaith Fridays series. Ours is an emphasis on interfaith learning and respect that has gone on at Chautauqua for more...
Hill to Pursue Doctoral Degree The Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees has extended President Michael E. Hill’s appointment for three years, through Dec. 31, 2021, following its annual review of presidential and institutional performance last month. Hill, who was appointed in 2016 and began his work at Chautauqua on Jan. 1, 2017, is the 18th president of the nearly 150-year-old Institution. “Michael has met or exceeded all of our expectations in his first two years of service, and he has outlined an ambitious agenda for the future of our beloved Institution,” said James A. Pardo Jr., chair of the Board...
On Saturday, April 6, NOW Generation volunteers are organizing events in 12 cities spanning the country to bring “CHQNearYou.” Each gathering features a different vibe — be it a brewery tour, an outdoor excursion, film festival, or evening at the ballpark — and you’re invited! With NOW Gen hosts designing these gatherings, we are excited to bring Chautauquans together in person, and further connect the NOW Gen community through social media. Host cities for “CHQNearYou” include: Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA Boulder, CO Washington, DC Chicago, IL Boston, MA New York, NYWestern New York Cleveland, OH Philadelphia, PANashville,...