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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.
At the 2020 Aspen Ideas Festival, five of America's premier artists in classical music, jazz, and ballet bring virtual audiences works of art intended to deepen thought.
Aspen Ideas: Health is where the arts meet health. Ahead of the 10th annual event this summer, we're looking back at some of the innovative artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, playwrights, and dancers who have shared their creative expressions of the mind, body, and spirit on our stages. Explore how the arts help expand our understanding of health and well-being.
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...
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...
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...
Music and dance are humanity’s hallmarks, a shared ritual of communities the world over. Over the millennia, we’ve created some highly specialized forms, but at its root, music is a language of emotion and empowerment, longing and loss — though it can also be a subversive force against authority.
The Aspen Ideas Festival team is proud to showcase the diverse writing of our speakers. Their books will be highlighted in talks at the Festival and available at the campus bookstore.
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...
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...
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?
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...
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...
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 —...
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...
Author Luis Alberto Urrea's latest novel is inspired by his own Mexican-American family.
Women's History Month is an opportunity to honor the indelible contributions women have made in societies around the world. But don't wait until remarkable women are in history books to celebrate them! Learn about contemporary women making their mark on the world.
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...
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...