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Memphis Jookin’ dancer and 2014 Harman-Eisner Artist in Residence Charles “Lil Buck” Riley and ballet dancer and director Damian Woetzel in a conversation of words and movement. Join these collaborators, arts advocates, educators, and friends as they talk shop about being an artist in the 21st century. With musical guests including Robert McDuffie and Arthur Bloom.
The Poetry Jam Session brings together some of the nation’s leading young poets for a spirited 80-minutes of cross-disciplinary performance, collaboration, and discussion. Lyrical and musical acrobatics will introduce ideas and issues central to this year’s arts track, bringing poetic life to the intersection of art and justice. This session is led by dancer turned directo...
Although death is every bit as much a part of life as birth, we pretend it isn’t there. Perhaps it’s time that changed. The soon-to-be released HBO documentary Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America, tackles this final taboo. Join the filmmakers for a sneak peek and a frank discussion about end of life options. How might we design more meaningful deaths?
For Kate Levin of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul Minnesota, and Karen Brunwasser of FeelBeit (a community center that bridges divides between East and West Jerusalem), the arts aren’t just a supplement to life — they are a crucial balm to social division. Find out how institutions can harness the power of the arts to strengthen communities in th...
Are you woke? The Afternoon Jam Session brings together some of the nation’s leading young poets, Jookin’ innovator Lil Buck, writer/activist Yosimar Reyes, and more special guests for a spirited hour of cross-disciplinary performance, collaboration, and discussion. Lyrical, musical, and physical acrobatics will introduce ideas and issues central to this year’s Aspen Ideas...
Music exists in every human culture and drives a multibillion-dollar industry, and yet the vast majority of people who enjoy music do instinctively, without any formal training. So where does music come from, and what is is good for? Drawing from studies in neuroscience, psychology, clinical science, and data science, Dr. Psyche Loui will discuss why we feel emotions in re...
In a theatrical, musical, audience-engaging production, Common presents messages of love, forgiveness, healing, and celebration, in his own unique style. Inspired by his very personal memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, Common takes you on his journey from the opening monologue to a live band concert. This limited-run show is an inspiring, emotional and uplifting experien...
Research supports the idea that creatives of all types are over-represented in the population dealing with mood disorders and other psychiatric challenges. Certainly some of the world’s greatest musical masterpieces were composed by musicians who struggled with mental illness. Was it a source of inspiration for their creativity, or did they turn to art to help them heal? R...
Kate Bowler, a young scholar of Christianity, had just written a book called Blessed, about the Christian idea that good things happen to good people, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the age of 35. Suddenly confronted with this devastating news, and people’s well-meaning but often lacking responses to it, Bowler wrote a book, launched a podcast, and became a...
Born out of gospel, R&B, and jazz in late 1950s America, soul has permeated music culture so thoroughly that its influence can be heard everywhere from modern country music to rock and hip-hop. So what is it about soul, and how did it become a soundtrack to some of our nation’s most defining moments? The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik and Grammy Award-winning artists share —...
Acoustics, intimacy, clarity: One could argue that how and where we listen to music is as important to the experience as the music itself. “The orchestra has to feel the audience, the audience has to feel the orchestra,” said architect Frank Gehry on his design of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, which opened in 2017. “When they do that, the orchestra plays better, and th...
The search for meaning is at the crux of the human condition and the basis of Life Worth Living, a new book emulating one of Yale’s most popular courses. In this lively “hot seat” discussion, professor Miroslav Volf discusses the book’s framework with host Kelly Corrigan. Afterwards, distinguished guests join in contemplating key questions such as: what’s worth doing, who...
In her new memoir, Mary Louise Kelly candidly explores the delicate balance between career and motherhood, sharing her insights as the host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” in the year leading up to her son’s departure for college. She and Kelly Corrigan, host of PBS’s “Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan,” sit down for a lively and honest conversation about the challenges of...
Journalist Tom Friedman reflects on 28 years of reporting.
Historian Andrew Roberts examines Churchill's description of becoming prime minister in May 1940: "I felt as if I were walking with destiny and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” The trial, of course, was an existential one for Britain, but Churchill’s career — and his confidence — helped lead the nation and the Allies throu...
When voices rise together in song, dancers tango across the floor, or a painter takes to a canvas, they may be engaging in a hobby, a passion, or a career. Most likely, they aren’t thinking about their brain circuitry or the cascading biochemical responses being sparked by their artistic pursuits. But we now have imaging technology and wearable sensors that can capture tha...
Any city would be lucky to have an artist in its corner like 2016 Harman-Eisner Artist-in-Residence Theaster Gates, whose work embraces activism, cultural preservation, and community development. Since he began work on his now famed Dorchester Projects in 2009, Gates’s transformation of a once-neglected South Side neighborhood into a thriving cultural hub has yielded an en...
Amid contentious policy disputes and multiple sources of “truth,” how should we engage in informed debate on today’s most significant issues? The visual arts can help. Hear from the co-curator of the exhibition now showing at the Aspen Institute’s Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies about how Bayer’s World Geo-Graphic Atlas was a precursor to the world of information...
We are often told great art speaks for itself. In practice, though, helping visual art find an audience usually requires a skillful narrative. How should we understand this use of storytelling, and who does it best? Does surging interest in contemporary art present special opportunities and responsibilities for developing appreciative audiences? What are key strategies and...
Storytelling, music, animation, and podcasts! Watch the magic of innovative content being born as creatives pitch their ideas to a panel of Planet Media judges, each hoping to launch short-form content aimed at helping kids understand climate change.