Acclaimed poetjournalist Aaron Dworkin returns for McCormack Endowed Visiting Artist-Scholar Residency
MacArthur Fellow Aaron Dworkin, founder of The Sphinx Organization, promoting diversity in the arts, returns to Skidmore to lead a wide-ranging discussion on poetry, identity, the arts, and mental health at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, in Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall at Arthur Zankel Music Center.
The event is free and open to the public. Open captioning will be provided.
The McCormack Endowed Visiting Artist-Scholar Residency was created to continue the Office of Special Programs’ rich artistic summer programming during the academic year. As part of the residency, designed to provide total immersion for both the artist and the Skidmore community, Dworkin will participate in several formal and informal opportunities for faculty and student interaction on Jan. 27 and 28, including a lunch with Arts Administration students and a conversation with members of Skidmore’s Opportunity Program.
The culminating presentation, “Lessons in Gratitude: A Poetjournalist’s Journey of Identity, the Arts, and Mental Health,” will feature a poetic reading by Dworkin, performed to an original piano composition by Skidmore student Eli Jean-Francois ’25. A conversation moderated by Associate Professor of English Maggie Greaves will follow, where Dworkin will share his personal story of overcoming adversity. The evening will conclude with a light reception in the Zankel Music Center lobby at 6 p.m.
“Aaron Dworkin is a man of many talents, and Skidmore’s creative-minded campus is the perfect venue for ‘Lessons in Gratitude,’ his latest endeavor.”David HowsonArthur Zankel Executive Director and Senior Teaching Professor of Arts Administration
About Aaron Dworkin
Aaron Dworkin is a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, President Barack Obama's first appointment to the National Council on the Arts, and a member of President Joseph Biden's Arts Policy Committee — as well as a best-selling author, Emmy award-winning filmmaker, and poetjournalist. Dworkin founded the Sphinx Organization (dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts) and the Institute for Poetjournalism.
He is a professor of arts leadership and entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan and hosts the nationally broadcast show “Arts Engines.”
Dworkin is the recipient of numerous honors, including National Governors Association Distinguished Service, BET’s History Makers in the Making, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Lifetime Achievement awards. He was also named the National Black MBA’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Dworkin has performed at esteemed venues such as Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, Chautauqua, NJPAC, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, and the Winfield House in London, among others. He has been featured on The Today Show and CNN and named one of Newsweek’s “15 People Who Make America Great.”
