Mason Artist-in-Residence Program

At Center for the Arts (Fairfax campus)

At Hylton Center (SciTech campus)

For the 2023–2024 season, the Center for the Arts welcomed three Mason Artists-in-Residence for intensive collaborations across campus and community:

• In fall 2023, GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble returned for the second in its exciting three-year arc as Mason Artist-in-Residence, to create the world premiere American Railroad project with Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens. The project highlighted untold musical stories and unheard voices from the communities of people who built the Transcontinental Railroad but have been largely erased from its history, including Indigenous and African Americans as well Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrant laborers. In addition to the culminating November 5 world premiere, the residency included Beyond the Note: A BIPOC Roundtable, in which Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens and artist Mazz Swift joined BIPOC students from the College of the Visual and Performing Arts for discussion, and musician class visits to Mason Folklore Program’s “Global Folklore” course and an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Multiple Silkroad artists also participated deeply over the whole fall 2023 semester in the Mason Honors College course, “The Silk Road and the Railroad: An artistic exploration of the Transcontinental Railroad in American history and culture,” taught by College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis. 
   
• In February, choreographer and MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham, “an uncanny interpreter of our time (Vanity Fair) who has made works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the New York City Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company brought his acclaimed company A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, known for their dance-based work galvanized by Black culture and history. The company worked with Mason students in the AFAM200: “Introduction to African American Studies” course, a Mason School of Dance “Senior Synthesis” class, the City of Fairfax Theatre Company in a conversation and movement workshop entitled “Unifying Uniqueness,” and a movement workshop movement workshop open to the public at Dance Place in Washington, D.C.
   
• In April, the inimitable Small Island Big Song—an ensemble featuring indigenous artists from seafaring cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Taiwan, and Tahiti—wove unique grooves and soulful ballads with spoken word and stunning panoramic projections, shining a light on global warming’s devastating effects on Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations. Additional residency events included a welcome lunch with guests from across Mason’s community; a discussion with the Mason Dewberry School of Music program’s “Music History in Society III” course; an Artists in Conversation event, Our Shared Seafaring Heritage, Alive in Rhythm and Song, co-presented with the City of Fairfax at the Stacey C. Sherwood Community Center; a Dancing Mauritian Sega workshop with grade school students from Hunters Woods Elementary School, a virtual discussion on the topic of “Artivism in Action - Managing Cultural Initiatives” with students of Mason’s Arts Management and Folklore program’s “Folklore and Festival Management” course, a collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; a discussion entitled Climate Change: Our Response as Artivists, co-presented with the Inclusive Collaborative Arts at Mason (ICAM) project and moderated by Distinguished Professor at George Mason University and Director of Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication Edward Maibach; as well as a schooltime matinee performance.

During the 2023–24 season, the Hylton Performing Arts Center welcomed two Artists-in-Residence:

• In fall 2023, one of Virginia’s premier gospel ensembles and 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship recipients The Legendary Ingramettes shared their family history, the evolution of gospel music, and a sampling of popular gospel music selections. In conjunction with their performance as part of the Hylton Center’s Hylton Presents series, Richmond’s “first family of gospel” shared their family history, the evolution of gospel music, and a sampling of popular gospel music selections with more than 600 members of our community.
   
• PHILADANCO! joined the Hylton Center as an Artist-in-Residence in spring 2024. Widely recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and electrifying performances, PHILADANCO! provides artistic opportunities and nurtures the talents of Black dancers denied places in local dance companies. In addition to their Hylton Presents performance, company members led masterclasses and demonstrations with students from multiple institutions; a conversation with the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce; and more.

For the 2022–2023 season, the Center for the Arts welcomed three Mason Artists-in-Residence for intensive collaborations across campus and community:

• Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, Bangalore-based “rock stars of the dance world” (New York Post) and Sri Lankan ensemble Chitrasena Dance Company participated in 10 events over the course of a week in November, including a co-presented Artists in Conversation event with the City of Fairfax at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center; two lecture/demonstrations for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and for Fairfax County Public School system fourth-graders at Hunters Woods Elementary School; a public Odissi dance class at Dance Place in Washington, D.C.; classroom visits with the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music “World Music” course taught by Prof. Christopher Troiano and Game Design Program’s “Digital Game Design” course, taught by Prof. Boris Willis, exploring how technology including virtual reality plays a part in Nrityagram Dance Ensemble’s work; two masterclasses with George Mason School of Dance students; and an interactive workshop with George Mason University’s Sri Lankan Student Association. The residency culminated with the mesmerizing performance and collaboration between Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and the Chitrasena Dance Company on Āhuti, deftly combining Odissi and Kandyan dance.
   
• GRAMMY-winning, radical cultural collaborators Silkroad Ensemble launched the first of a three-year residency at the Center, with January events and an interactive lobby installation leading up to the performance of Uplifted Voices, a moving program championing the women and non-binary members of the group. The ensemble led masterclasses with students from the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music who study under Director of Strings June Huang; a class discussion in George Mason University’s Women and Gender Studies100: “Global Representations of Women” course, taught by Prof. Holly Mason Badra, Associate Director of George Mason’s Women and Gender Studies Program; and a workshop with Music and Technology high school students at Fairfax Academy of Communication and Performing Arts.

• Native American collective with hip-hop influence Indigenous Enterprise, “updating what a Native American dance troupe can be” (The New York Times), led a week-long residency in April, including a welcome lunch with students and faculty from George Mason’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance (NAIA) and Center for the Arts staff; an Artists in Conversation event co-presented with the City of Fairfax at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center; an interactive workshop with Dewberry School of Music Professor Gregory Robinson’s “Music History in Society” and with Fairfax County Public Schools’ kindergarten, first-, and second-grade classes at Laurel Ridge Elementary School; a lecture/demonstration for members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI); and a pre-performance discussion with local Indigenous Elder Michael Nephew leading up to their program Indigenous Liberation, a joyful celebration of indigenous dance traditions.

The Hylton Center welcomed Artist-in-Residence and two-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience who brought communities together to share South Louisiana Creole culture and Zydeco music. Terrance and the band led workshops and classes for students at George Mason, participants in Lifelong Learning Institute—Manassas, and local schools. In addition, they also welcomed over 1,500 students to two Creole for Kidz field trip performances in Merchant Hall.

During the 2021/2022 season, the Center for the Arts hosted five Mason Artists-in-Residence for a variety of research and engagement activities around the artists’ performances.

• Kaneza Schaal, visionary director and co-creator of CARTOGRAPHY, continued to work with Mason’s Game Design Program and Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI) to develop technology for a new augmented reality performance piece.
   
• Sphinx Virtuosi, the dynamic self-conducting chamber orchestra of top Black and Latinx musicians, led educational and artistic activities across Northern Virginia: Mason students benefited from select classroom visits and masterclasses in Strings and Symphony Orchestra, and local elementary and high schools were treated to virtual and in-person arts demonstrations and performances. Continuing CVPA’s work in the digital sphere, Sphinx Virtuosi also conducted Zoom lecture-demonstrations with Mason Alumni and Northern Virginia Community College students. 
   
• Throughout the season, Camille A. Brown & Dancers company members hosted a variety of activities: Founder and choreographer Camille A. Brown held an online Q&A session for the Mason School of Dance community, dancers from Mason’s School of Dance and Fairfax Academy participated in a masterclasses, and the residency organized Mason-wide dance workshops for well-being through Every Body Move.
   
• The company of SW!NG OUT engaged with local swing dance groups, area students, Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Veterans and the Arts Initiative, and community members to share the history of swing and Lindy Hop—and get dancing too!
   
• GRAMMY winning composer Maria Schneider led a powerful series of events across Mason’s Fairfax and Arlington campuses with students, faculty, staff, and community members, including a public event held in partnership with Mason’s Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2) and Arts Management Program.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center welcomed Artist-in-Residence Ballet Hispánico, bringing communities together to celebrate and explore Latinx cultures. The multi-day residency included in-person and virtual activities with Northern Virginia dancers and community members at the Hylton Center and in area schools.

The 2020-2021 season of Mason Artists-in-Residence combined in-person residencies with virtual ones to continue to serve the artists as well as the Mason and Greater Washington communities throughout the pandemic. The season’s first artist was Grammy® Award-winning Third Coast Percussion who conducted a virtual residency full of masterclasses, discussions, virtual field trips with local middle schools, and lecture-performances. Theater artist Kaneza Schaal began a research residency leading up to the Center for the Arts performance of CARTOGRAPHY in the 2021-2022 season. This residency works closely with Mason’s Game Design Program and Virginia Serious Games Institute to develop augmented reality tools to be used in future performance projects. D.C.-based Step Afrika!, the world’s first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, completed a residency to rehearse and record a new dance film from the Hylton Performing Arts Center as well as conducting virtual field trips as part of its education outreach.

Learn More About the 2020-2021 Season

The inaugural year of residencies in 2019-2020 featured “Latin Alternative” powerhouse quartet  LADAMA  for five jam-packed days in October 2019 working with more than 1,450 community participants, and a week-long technical residency with world-renowned dance company Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in January 2020 for their world premiere of What Problem? featuring nearly 30 community members.