Beginning Wednesday, April 17 and running through Wednesday, May 8, the Department of Religion will offer a weekly Book Talk Series featuring best-selling books of some of Chautauqua’s recent Interfaith Lecture Series speakers. Simran Jeet Singh, Jillian Hanesworth, Andrew Seidel, and Laurel Braitman join us for an enlightening 90-minute session. Each session includes a presentation by the author, an interactive Q-and-A, and facilitated breakout discussions. This four-week educational opportunity offers both synchronous and asynchronous content, for a cost of $175. However, due to the intimate nature of these conversations, enrollment will be capped at 30, so be sure to register...
“It’s showtime today!” were the magical words that greeted the Chautauqua Arts Education Young Playwrights Project team members as they visited the schools to read plays written by Chautauqua County 3rd and 4th grade students. This year over 400 students worked to write 378 plays that shared a broad view of the world through the hearts and minds of these young students. The Young Playwrights Project (YPP) began in 2014 in collaboration with the Florida Studio Theater in Sarasota, Florida and has since evolved to a close partnership with Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) and developed further by Syracuse University acting faculty...
Chautauqua Institution today announced the appointment of Jill McCormick to the position of Director of Communications and Special Projects. In this role, McCormick will be responsible for developing and implementing communications plans to inform the public, news media, and internal audiences of Chautauqua’s programs and operations, bringing Chautauqua’s compelling mission to life through story. She will also serve as project manager for Chautauqua Travels, a new venture that brings Chautauqua’s mission to educational group travel experiences in the U.S. and abroad. McCormick comes to Chautauqua following a successful, 30+ year career in television news, serving in a variety of roles including...
Wooden Castles and Winter Flowers: Mark Wenzler Last Sunday was a beautiful day in Washington, D.C. With temperatures in the mid-70s, I put on shorts for the first time in months for my regular Sunday morning run. This was an especially magical jog through a faintly fragrant tunnel of blossoming cherry trees. The many thousands of cherry trees in our nation’s capital date back to a 1912 gift of friendship from the people of Japan. They are one of the things that makes D.C. so beautiful and a major driver of tourism. But should we be enjoying them in the...
Established from its foundation in 1874 as a platform for intellectual and cultural exchange, Chautauqua Institution was pivotal in the advancement of women’s rights. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, Chautauqua’s lecture platform featured notable suffragists ranging from Susan B. Anthony to Carrie Chapman Catt. This March, we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, showcasing Chautauqua’s crucial role in the women’s rights movement. Though Chautauqua had welcomed women speakers in the past, beginning as early as the remarks from Jenny Fowler Willing at the opening services in 1874, debating the issue of women’s suffrage was revolutionary. Chautauqua’s first women’s suffrage...
Beginning this spring, the Department of Religion is excited to host a series of online offerings that will include several opportunities for online engagement and learning. As part of the 150 Forward Strategic Plan, one of our key objectives is to expand Chautauqua’s convening authority year round. Through these online offerings, we aim to build upon Summer Assembly content and to create new and more expansive Chautauqua experiences. We are excited to announce two new offerings. A webinar entitled “Israel and Palestine: Dialogue and Relationships Across Divides with the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom” will occur next Tuesday, March 26 at...
Chautauqua Literary Arts is pleased to announce an exciting transition for the Chautauqua journal, which will see its final publication this summer in its current form. It will be reconstructed and rejuvenated as the Chautauqua Anthology, co-edited by Kwame Alexander and Jill Gerard. For decades, Chautauqua literary journal has been a literary manifestation of the values and aesthetics of Chautauqua Institution. Each volume is a portable Chautauqua season between covers. The sections loosely reflect the categories of experience addressed during those nine summer weeks, playing one writer’s vision off another’s in the spirit of oblique, artful dialogue. The Chautauqua way...
Chautauqua Institution today announced the promotion of Senior Director of Marketing and Analytics Vanessa Weinert, to the role of vice president for marketing and communications. She replaces Emily Morris, who is stepping down from the vice-presidential role to focus on brand strategy in support of the Institution’s goals to grow Summer Assembly attendance and year-round engagement. Weinert has served the Institution since 2012 in a series of roles on the marketing team. Most recently, she was senior director of marketing and analytics with responsibility for leading and implementing marketing campaigns and the Institution’s data analytics program. As vice president, she will...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its 2024 season. In celebration of Chautauqua’s sesquicentennial, CTC’s season will draw from the full breadth of the theater company’s legacy. CTC will present three New Play Workshops (NPW) and three mainstage productions: Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, and Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi), a world premiere directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. The season will also include the return of the beloved Bratton Late Night, featuring the talents...
From its founding in 1874, Chautauqua Institution has been a hub of intellectual and cultural activity, welcoming people from across the globe to share their ideas and insights. Over its 150 years, Chautauqua has weathered world wars, depressions, and profound social change, remaining a world-renowned destination for educational exploration, spiritual growth, and community engagement. As Chautauqua celebrates this remarkable milestone, we invite readers to explore our rich history with five fascinating facts you may not know about Chautauqua! 1. Chautauqua Institution was the first of several Chautauquas. As Chautauqua Institution grew in popularity, other “chautauquas” began to spread across the...
