Great Barrington - For several weeks each summer, five established, mid-career, and emerging artists are granted time and space to create works inspired by the values that James Weldon Johnson dedicated his life to: creative expression, social justice, civil rights, erudition, and community.
The James Weldon Johnson Foundation partnered with Bard College at Simon’s Rock for the second annual artist-in-residence program, which invites these artists to stay on the Simon’s Rock campus and use the College’s studio space. The artists also have access to Five Acres, James Weldon Johnson’s nearby home and writing cabin, where he wrote some of his most famous works, including God’s Trombones and his autobiography Along This Way.
The 2018 Fellows—Sonya Clark, Patrick Eugène, Douriean Fletcher, Kamil Peters, and Meclina Priestley—called the experience, and “place and space” at Five Acres and Simon’s Rock, “the magical place,” said Rufus Jones, co-founder and president of the Foundation. Read More