ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

Artists aim to interpret the world, and draw on personal experiences to develop work that creates an impact. To realize that goal, they need space, support, and guidance. As an artist-led institution, this was the genesis for the National Sawdust Artists-in-Residence program.

National Sawdust’s Artist-in-Residence program offers a structured time and space in which artists can develop new work based on pertinent social or political themes, experiment with new sounds leveraging state-of-the-art technology —

including the Meyer Sound Constellation® Acoustic System and Spacemap® Multi-Channel Panning System — and learn about the art of making art from industry leaders and the most renowned musicians in the field today.

Through peer interaction, discussion groups, venue rehearsals, formal lectures, mentorship, and performances of their work throughout the National Sawdust season, participants deeply explore the creative process and gain insights that can be applied to the professional development of their work.

About the Program

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Past Residencies

Season 5 Artists-in-Residence

Beth Morrison Projects

With National Sawdust, BMP brings the most evocative new opera concert works to an intimate venue. BMP Presents Persona and Saga at Prototype this season.
October 27, 2016/by Zan Emerson

Kinds of Kings

Heralded by the New Yorker as “distinguished young creators who work in diverse styles,” Kinds of Kings is a collective of six multifaceted composers. The collective actively advocates for underrepresented voices and is committed to building a positive and supportive community around the creation and experience of new music.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson

Against the Grain Theatre

Their stirring reinventions of classic repertoire “smack you in the face like a bracing wake-up call to the spirit” (Globe and Mail). Award-winning Canadian opera collective Against the Grain Theatre, led by Founding Artistic Director Joel Ivany, has gained notoriety for presenting classical work in new and innovative ways, making it relevant and accessible to a new generation.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson

Mwenso and the Shakes

Mwenso and the Shakes are an artist-collective-turned-family made up of some of the most creative and virtuosic musicians in the world. Driven by their founder’s deep ancestral understanding of the art form, they came together through many late nights exploring music outside of the traditional classroom and celebrating life and their unique international cultures. Their foundational roots, familial trust, and total understanding of the continuum of music create the freedom and fluidity of their spontaneous, communal, and improvised output of joy, thought, and empowerment.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson

Lucy Dhegrae

“Vocal versatility and an omnivorous curiosity” (New York Times) are the hallmarks of vocalist Lucy Dhegrae, a passionate singer with a flexible technique that fits a variety of styles. Among her many accomplishments, Lucy has been featured in the Mostly Mozart Festival and has performed at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. She founded and directs the Resonant Bodies Festival, an international presenter of boundary-pushing contemporary music vocalists.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson

Sonic and Womxyn Amplify

A force of soulful, slow-burning R&B, Sonic is a singer/songwriter with a unique relationship with sound: she’s partially deaf. She will collaborate with her collective Womxyn Amplify, an experiential production house that creates experiences that amplify the voices of LGBTQIA womxyn and non-binary artists, to craft an immersive performance that spotlights the path to self-knowledge and acceptance.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson

Ash Koosha

From the underground punk-rock scene in a repressive Tehran to the creation of a singer-songwriter auxman (auxiliary human) named YONA, the polymath Iranian performer Ash Koosha has spent his entire career on the front lines of the musical vanguard, both real and virtual.
July 24, 2019/by Zan Emerson