From the President: You’re Invited to CHQ Assembly
Chautauqua Proudly Launches the New Online Expression of Its Mission
Dear Chautauquans,
It is with great enthusiasm that I invite you to join us for CHQ Assembly, the online expression of Chautauqua’s mission that will host our 2020 Summer Assembly programs and experiences — and keep us connected and engaged year-round.
CHQ Assembly creates a way for us to gather and engage this summer for the 147th Chautauqua Assembly, when we are unable to attend Chautauqua face-to-face due to COVID-19 concerns. It is composed of five separate but interconnected digital properties — think of them as online venues — where video content, online conversations, master and enrichment classes, and virtual experiences will be offered and presented.
The five components of CHQ Assembly are detailed below:
CHQ Assembly Video Platform | assembly.chq.org
The hub of CHQ Assembly, this is where you will find live and recorded lectures, performances and sermons presented as part of the 2020 season. In addition, we are making selected lectures from previous seasons available for viewing, including some previously unreleased content. Other aspects of Chautauqua’s mission come to life here as well, including programs and experiences that are part of our Arts Education initiatives.
Patrons are invited to sign up for a free 90-day subscription to assembly.chq.org after which a nominal monthly fee of $3.99 will help us to keep CHQ Assembly vibrant year-round. Create your new account today and start adding programs to your list! In addition to being available on your desktop and mobile devices, using the same username and password, you can access assembly.chq.org video content on your favorite mobile and TV streaming devices. Search “Chautauqua Assembly” in your App Store and Google Play and on your Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Android TV or Chromecast television streaming services to access and download the app.
Download the app today (Link for use on mobile device or tablet only)
Single Sign-on
Separately from your new CHQ Assembly Video Platform account, you will want to establish an account for easy and secure access to our Virtual Porch, Online Classroom and Chautauqua Visual Arts Gallery Store (details below), all of which are conveniently connected through a single sign-on (SSO) environment. Create your single sign-on account at either at the Virtual Porch or the Online Classroom by clicking the “login” or “sign in” links in the upper right corners of the sites.
Virtual Porch | porch.chq.org
Among the many icons of Chautauqua’s historic grounds are the beautiful and inviting porches that welcome friends and family for daily visits and conversations. CHQ Assembly’s Virtual Porch creates multiple online spaces for engagement and conversation. You are invited daily to take part in conversations on the Virtual Porch and, just like on the grounds, there will often be several conversations taking place on multiple porches at the same time. There is no fee for attending Virtual Porch events and no limit to the number of events in which you can participate.
Online Classroom | learn.chq.org
Chautauqua’s Special Studies takes on an entirely new look and experience, as we move our master and enrichment classes entirely online for the 2020 summer season. This best-in-class online classroom invites you to dive deeper into theme-related topics each week and enroll in classes that broaden your general knowledge and creative abilities. You may browse the online classroom catalog at any time. In order to register for a class, you will need to sign in.
Chautauqua Visual Arts | art.chq.org
Launching June 29
One of the most exciting and engaging parts of Chautauqua’s artistic offerings comes from our friends in the visual arts, whose activities and programs can come to life online in ways that will delight and inspire. Chautauqua Visual Arts will offer cherished programs from the School of Art as well as online gallery tours and exhibitions and the ability to take CVA home with you through a purchase in our online Gallery Store. Chautauqua Visual Arts will launch by June 29 at the familiar online space of art.chq.org. Until launch, this URL points to our existing Chautauqua Visual Arts page on chq.org.
Poetry Makerspace | poetry.chq.org
Launching June 29
Chautauqua Literary Arts has been an innovative part of the life of Chautauqua Institution nearly from its founding. As Chautauqua launches the online expression of its mission, the literary arts will continue to innovate through the invitational art of poetry. The Poetry Makerspace will serve as a portal into the many opportunities to engage with the written word. In partnership with Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center and others, the Poetry Makerspace seeks to bring the gift and craft of poetry to everyday lives. The site will launch on June 29.
Learn more about CHQ Assembly at our one-stop CHQ Assembly resource center. This is also a great page to share with family and friends who we hope you will invite to join us online this summer and year-round.
CHQ Assembly Program Schedule
To the extent possible, we will present the 2020 Summer Assembly Season through CHQ Assembly as previously scheduled, bringing you the speakers, performances and worship services that were planned and published as part of the 2020 schedule of events. In some cases, events planned for 2020 have been rescheduled for 2021. In other cases, events may take on a different form. In a limited number of cases where we are unable to translate a planned event into an online presentation, events have been canceled or postponed while we consider other options.
We are also planning to present many programs on the same days and times that they would have occurred in the traditional Summer Assembly. Each day will keep a familiar rhythm that Chautauquans tell us meaningfully contributes to the cohesiveness of the experience. Most of the programs on all of the CHQ Assembly platforms will also be made available on-demand after the live or premiere presentation.
The latest information on all of the planned CHQ Assembly events and experiences can be found at 2020.chq.org. Please know that we are adding events to the schedule every day. Weeks One, Two and Three are currently in near final form. Weeks Four through Nine are significantly incomplete at this time, but will be populated very soon as we complete conversations with scheduled speakers, performers and preachers.
We’re Here to Help
Some of the properties in CHQ Assembly have built-in premium help services:
- Video Platform (assembly.chq.org) help is available here.
- Online Classroom (learn.chq.org) help is available here.
Our colleagues at the Chautauqua Ticket Office will also be available by email at ticketoffice@chq.org to assist with any questions about CHQ Assembly, and by phone at 716-357-6250 during regular business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday (expanded to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from June 27 to Aug. 30).
For questions regarding on-grounds activities, shopping, dining and access, see the resources at our Plan Your Visit webpage.
Embracing the Experiment
As you may know, our team has created CHQ Assembly in approximately eight weeks. While we have endeavored upon this opportunity with great commitment, we also know that there is always room for continuing improvement and innovation — particularly when an initiative was developed upon such a short timeline.
With this in mind, we invite all of our patrons to explore and participate in CHQ Assembly with an experimental mindset, recognizing that some things we try may not work so well — while others may dramatically exceed our expectations. We will be seeking your input through both formal and informal channels — online surveys, Virtual Porch conversations, and through an online suggestion box. We thank you for helping us to shape CHQ Assembly for the 2020 summer season and beyond. And, we ask for your tolerance and understanding when things may not go exactly as planned.
While it remains very difficult to imagine a summer without Chautauqua’s traditional and incomparable on-grounds experience, it is my hope that CHQ Assembly can come to be embraced as a new way to experience Chautauqua and a new way to share Chautauqua more widely with friends, family and the world. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
All my best,
Michael E. Hill
President