The Artist-in-Residence Program
at Benedictine University
About the Program
Established in the 2005-2006 academic year as a means to enrich university culture, Benedictine University’s Artist-in-Residence program seeks to draw innovative artists to campus. The program is housed in the College of Liberal Arts, but aims to serve and enrich the experience of the entire University community.
In 2006, lithographer Cynthia Archer served as the first Artist-in-Residence; in the following year, the program sponsored “Corpus Delicti: Just Desserts,” a theatrical meditation on the art, history, and ethics of dissection and anatomical research. In 2008, the University hosted Marc Kelly Smith, the internationally renowned founder of the slam poetry movement. Most recently, the Artist-in-Residence program welcomed acclaimed bluesman Fruteland Jackson (pictured, right) to campus to teach a class about blues history and performance.
Whether they are literature majors, biology majors, or business majors, students from across the University have the unique opportunity to learn from and closely interact with these practicing artists in small, seminar-sized classes. At the same time, Artists-in-Residence publicly perform or exhibit their work every spring semester, fostering a climate of intellectual and cultural inquiry that helps to strengthen the University community. These performances and exhibitions are also open to the general public, providing the University with an exceptional opportunity to establish itself as a destination for cultural events and thus create new relationships with members of the surrounding Chicagoland community.
Check this website soon to learn more about Benedictine’s Artist-in-Residence for 2010!