Artists-in-Residence

Connecting Artists and Audiences

Each year, the Center for the Arts invites several artists and ensembles with distinctive and innovative artistic voices to make Mason their home for a residency. 

Each Mason Artist-in-Residence will participate in a variety of activities, designed to engage and inspire the diverse audiences both on and off the campus of George Mason University. Learn more about the work and impact of recent Mason Artists-in-Residence.
 

2022/2023 Mason Artists-in-Residence 

The following artists have been chosen to participate in the Mason Artist-in-Residence program in conjunction with their 2022/2023 Center for the Arts season performances. 

Dancers from Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in collaboration with Chitrasena Dance Company, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble performs Āhuti at the Center for the Arts on November 5, 2022.
Dancers from Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in collaboration with Chitrasena Dance Company, who will perform Āhuti at the Center for the Arts on November 5, 2022. (Photo by Karthik Venkataraman)

  • Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
    These “rock stars of the dance world” (New York Post) from Bangalore, India, will lead an extensive residency in the community, and will perform in collaboration with Sri Lankan group, Chitrasena Dance Company. Weaving together two dance vocabularies – Odissi from India and Kandyan from Sri Lanka – their performance of Āhuti (Sanskrit for “invoking” and Pali for “offering") also features live flute, violin, harmonium, manjira, and drums onstage. Read more about the full residency.

  • Silkroad Ensemble
    Celebrating the exchange of cultural ideas, tradition, and under-recognized voices, their “Uplifted Voices” program champions women and non-binary members of the Silkroad Ensemble alongside special guest Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé, featuring music connecting the sounds and rhythms of indigenous North America to the World.

    This 2022/2023 residency launches an exciting three-year arc at Mason with the GRAMMY award-winning ensemble, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma as a groundbreaking experiment in cultural collaboration, and now under the artistic direction of MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Rhiannon Giddens. 

  • Indigenous Enterprise
    Comprised of champion dancers from Native American and Canadian tribes and Nations, this intertribal production of “Indigenous Liberation” features songs, stories, and dances from all over Turtle Island. The group participated in President Biden’s inauguration and has appeared on the TV competition “World of Dance.” The New York Times says, “rooted in tradition but also has hip-hop influences, discernible in footwork, bounce, and especially attitude."

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We believe in the power of the Arts to create community, and look forward to welcoming these incredible artists this season! More information about how you can engage with the Mason Artists-in-Residence will be posted here and on the artists’ event webpages as it becomes available.

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