Residencies

The BU Arts Initiative works with faculty to coordinate arts events and residencies driven by curriculum and research with a goal of directly engaging BU students in the practice of, participation in, and intellectual dialogue around art and art making. Residencies supported by the BU Arts Initiative present outstanding artists or arts scholars in partnership with specific academic programs. They are intended to be interdisciplinary, inclusive, and represent both the global and urban nature of Boston University.

Many residency events are free and open to the public, and when possible, involve direct partnerships or collaborations with community organizations. A typical residency is four or more days and includes: performances (or exhibit/installation), panel discussions, and workshops, as well as class visits with faculty from across the university. However, each residency is specifically designed with the faculty partner to meet the teaching, research, and engagement goals of the program.

Faculty interested in developing a residency in partnership with the BU Arts Initiative should fill out our brief Inquiry Form. 

The following residencies have been produced since the founding of the BU Arts Initiative in 2012:

• Marc Bamuthi Joseph– November 2022, in partnership with BU African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program.
• Trios Palos Y Cuerdas– October 2022, in partnership with BU School of Music (Oct. 11th-14th).  Also featuring: David Guzman – Assistant Professor of Voice at BU, Michael Birenbaum Quintero – BU Associate Professor of Music and Chair, Musicology & Ethnomusicology, and Fabian Galon (Colombian tiple player and Berklee College of Music faculty.
• Dakota Mace (Diné)- March 2022, in partnership with the School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts, and the Indigenous Voices in the Americas.  
• Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida Nations) – September through December 2021 – Guest Resident Artist and c0-creator of Patterns of Wind  (Dec 3-5) in partnership with BU School of Theatre and the Indigenous Voices in the Americas.
• Amirah Sackett – October 2020, in partnership with the BU Dance Program.
• Computational Artist in Residence with Francisco Alarcon Ruiz – Fall 2019, in partnership with the Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering, and BU Spark! with support from Innovate@BU and the School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts.
• Rhodessa Jones – October 2019, in partnership with the Activist Lab, School of Public Health.
• Writing the Fantastic – April 2019, in partnership with CGS and Master Lecturer Regina Hansen, featuring Leigh Dana Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders.
• Tarish Pipkins – November 2018, in partnership with Art Education, School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts and Puppet Showplace Theatre. Felice Amato named Provost Faculty Arts Fellow.
• Last Call History Project – April 2018, in partnership with the CAS Department of Sociology.
• Xu Xing – February through April 2018, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Asia. Catherine Yeh named Provost Faculty Arts Fellow.
• 2125 Stanley Street featuring Dahlia Nayar – November 2017 in partnership with BU Art Galleries and the BU Dance Program with funding from the National Dance Project – New England Foundation for the Arts.
• AXIS Dance Company – March 2017, in partnership with Sargent College, Disability & Access Services, and the BU Dance Program.
• Theatre Nohgaku – March 2016, in partnership with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, The Center for the Study of Asia, and the CAS English Department. Carrie Preston named Provost Faculty Arts Fellow.
• Jennifer Weber – October 2015, in partnership with BU Dance Program.
• The Nile Project – March 2015, in partnership with BU Musicology and Ethnomusicology and the African Studies Program with funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts. Marié Abe named inaugural Provost Faculty Arts Fellow.
• Marten Persiel – November 2014, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Europe and the Goethe Institute Boston.

Other visiting artists sponsored by the BU Arts Initiative include: The Crossroads Project, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Maya Lin, Sonia Sanchez, Stephen Schwartz, Deborah Lipstadt, Gerald Vizenor, Alysia Harris, Stacey Tyrell, and Martha Graham Cracker.