Dear Chautauquans, As the autumn leaves finish their descent onto Bestor Plaza, it signifies our annual ritual of Thanksgiving in the United States. This year feels especially momentous, as we remember the events celebrating the 150th anniversary of our beloved Chautauqua Institution. For a century and a half, Chautauqua has been a place where minds and hearts converge, where intellectual curiosity, artistic brilliance, and spiritual growth come together. This milestone reminds us of the enduring strength of our community—built on a legacy of connection, learning, and shared purpose. For that and so much more, we are grateful. It strikes me...
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$4.7 Million Grant From New York State to Support Water Quality Research on Chautauqua Lake
Chautauqua Institution is celebrating a major investment by New York State in the science-based conservation of Chautauqua Lake. A $4.7 million grant to Chautauqua Institution from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (NYSEFC) will sustain scientific research and related infrastructure investments in Chautauqua Lake through May 2027. Institution President Michael E. Hill, says this investment from New York State represents a milestone in the multiyear vision for Chautauqua Lake conservation named in Chautauqua Institution’s strategic plan, 150 Forward. “When our Board of Trustees in 2019 named the development of science-based solutions for the conservation of Chautauqua Lake as one...
2025 Sales Kick Off January 24 With Select Concerts Available This December
Chautauqua’s 2025 Summer Assembly is taking shape — it’s time to start planning your experience! This season features an exceptional lineup of speakers, performers, and artists, including Lewis Black’s biting humor, LeVar Burton’s captivating storytelling, Kwame Alexander’s lyrical poetry, Denyce Graves’s powerful voice, and George Saunders and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s literary brilliance. From lectures to concerts and theater productions, Chautauqua will once again be your community for learning, connection and inspiration. Mark your calendars and secure your gate passes and tickets! 2025 Summer Assembly Sales Schedule December: Select concerts and lectures. The perfect holiday gift — stay tuned for exciting...
Chautauqua Theater Company to Commission Musical Adaptation of Kwame Alexander’s ‘The Crossover’
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced their commission and development of a musical adaptation of The Crossover, the critically acclaimed novel by New York Times best-selling author and Chautauqua Institution’s Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and writer-in-residence Kwame Alexander. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, CTC is cementing its reputation as a national home for exciting new works. Carroll’s tenure has brought a renewed focus on commissioning, developing and producing works from new and established American playwrights. This commitment to fostering innovative storytelling is exemplified with...
In 2014 Junk Free Skin began in a small retail space in Buffalo, New York, where the founders set out to create a bath and body line using clean ingredients and truly sustainable, plastic-free packaging at an affordable price. Today the company is a thriving manufacturing facility equipped with the latest technologies and delivering products nationwide. If you visited Chautauqua this past summer, you may have picked up a free sample of their foaming hand soap at the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative (CCI) table on Bestor Plaza. I got to see Junk Free Skin’s founder, Tom Akers, at the Western...
PLAYBILL: The Light and the Dark, Amerikin, More in Primary Stages’ 2024-2025 SeasonPLAYBILL:
The Off-Broadway company has also announced a year-long discount ticketing initiative. Off-Broadway’s Primary Stages has announced the lineup of productions for its 2024-2025 season, which marks its 40th anniversary. The company will also take part in a discount ticketing initiative throughout the season. The season will kick off with Kate Hamill‘s The Light and the Dark (The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi), running November 2-December 15. Jade King Carroll will direct the work, which is presented in association with Chautauqua Theater Company and Jamie deRoy. The work, which had its world premiere at CTC earlier this year, tracks how painter Artemisia Gentileschi transcended trauma to become one of...
Suzanne Fassett-Wright Presents at Kennedy Center’s ED@LEAD Conference
In July 2024, Chautauqua Institution’s Director of Arts Education Suzanne Fassett-Wright presented at the Kennedy Center’s ED@LEAD Conference. This event is an outgrowth of the Kennedy Center’s LEAD (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability)Conference. Fassett-Wright lead a session titled “Feelin’ the Beat: Where Drumming and Social Emotional Learning Meet,” sharing out about the Chautauqua Arts Education School Residencies drumming program. This program was developed originally to serve students with disabilities, integrating music and social emotional skill learning. However, it became clear with so many students struggling with social emotional skills due to the pandemic, many schools have been hosting this...
PRIMARY STAGES and 59E59 Theaters in association with Chautauqua Theater Company, and in association with Jamie deRoy, will present The Light and The Dark, a new play written by Kate Hamill and directed by Jade King Carroll. The Light and The Dark will begin previews at 59E59’s Theater A on November 2, 2024, with an opening night set for November 17 for a limited run through December 15, 2024. Primary Stages is the Resident Off Broadway Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters.
There are moments when an idea evolves into something greater, moments when an observation or a conversation sparks a big idea. These ideas have the potential to shift perspectives, spark action and inspire. Chautauqua Institution is embracing the power of such thoughts with the launch of a new video series called “Big Ideas.” “Big Ideas” captures key insights from Chautauqua Institution’s collection of lectures and programs created during the nine-week Summer Assembly by CHQ Assembly, Chautauqua’s membership-based, streaming platform. Each video distills a single thought from a full-length program into a digestible 3 to 10-minute clip. Instead of watching an...
Empathy to the Rescue How Stories Help Us Find Common Ground on Climate Change The human suffering wrought by hurricanes Helene and Milton in the southeastern United States remind us as the climate crisis deepens, communities across the nation desperately need everyone working together toward solutions. But too often these days, political and social divisions stand in the way of understanding and collaboration — leading to stalemate, inaction and the next climate-fueled tragedy. We need only hear stories of armed militias confronting FEMA responders to understand how deeply polarized our country has become. It’s far more difficult for divided communities to...