The Watermill Center presents the launch of its new public workshops, kicking off this spring with four digital offerings from The Center’s international alumni. Featuring writer Afua Ansong, theatre artist Anton Krause, multidisciplinary artist Tamar Ettun, and visual artist Lua Rivera, the workshops aim to demystify the creative process by inviting participants to directly engage with an artist’s studio practice.
The series is an extension of The Watermill Center’s ongoing education programs, which annually see over 1,000 students and educators interact with Watermill’s global roster of artists. The spring workshops mark the first time The Center has hosted education programs open to the general public in recent history, outside of its Annual Community + Family Days.
“We were looking for new ways to open ourselves to the public, and these workshops felt like a natural progression,” said The Center’s education programs coordinator, Andrea Cote. “Our education programs are so abundant, but due to their focus on working with local educational institutions and partnering organizations, they aren’t as open to the public as our other programs. We thought it would be a great opportunity to get the community engaging with our international artists and investigating the creative processes of artists from different backgrounds. Participants can join virtually from anywhere in the world.”
The program begins on Saturday, March 6, from 3 to 4 PM, with a “Meditation on the self: Drinking at the Mouth of West African Art” creative writing workshop led by Ansong, a Ghanian-American writer and scholar. The workshop invites the public to develop prayers, chants, songs, and poems that seek to preserve and explore concepts of the self inspired by Adinkra symbols.
The series will continue with Krause on April 3, Ettun on May 1, and Rivera on June 5.
Each workshop will be hosted live via Zoom. Tickets start at $25. The Center offers reduced pricing for those requiring financial assistance. Register online.