The McCormack Endowed Visiting Artist-Scholar Residency was created to continue the Office of Special Programs' rich artistic summer programming during the academic year. Designed to provide total immersion for both the artist and the 91暗网 community, residencies feature class visits, opportunities for faculty/student interaction, performances, readings, and exhibitions.
2025 McCormack Visiting Artist-Scholar in Residence
Aaron Dworkin
Poetjournalist, Social Entrepreneur, Author, Filmmaker
Lessons in gratitude: a poetjournalist's journey of identity, the arts, and mental
health
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
5:00 p.m.
Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Arthur Zankel Music Center
Free and open to the public
About Aaron Dworkin
Named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, President Obama鈥檚 first appointment to the National Council on the Arts and member of President Biden鈥檚 Arts Policy Committee, Aaron P. Dworkin is former dean and current Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan鈥檚 School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Aaron is a best-selling writer and poetjournalist having authored his poetry collections, The Poetjournalist and They Said I Wasn鈥檛 Really Black, along with other books including two memoirs, a children鈥檚 book, science-fiction novel and The Entrepreneurial Artist: Lessons from Highly Successful Creatives. Aaron founded the Institute for Poetjournalism and originated the term 鈥減oetjournalism鈥� which is defined as 鈥渢he research, creation, and distribution of writing that evokes an emotional connection to news related subjects or other relevant ideas utilizing elements of sound, meter, rhythm and/or creative illustration.鈥� He serves as Poetjournalist-in-Residence of the City of Ann Arbor鈥檚 Bicentennial, the Rodham Institute, Fisher Foundation, Wright Museum of African-American History, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Grantmakers in the Arts, Ovation TV and Shar Music. Hailed by critics as 鈥減owerful,鈥� 鈥渟tirring,鈥� 鈥減assionate and heroic,鈥� and 鈥渁 tour de force,鈥� Aaron has performed his poetry as a prominent spoken-word artist including Carnegie Hall, Galapagos Theater in New York, Harvard University, Chautauqua, University of Michigan, Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, NJPAC and the Wright Museum and Orchestra Hall in Detroit amongst others and is a member of the Academy of American Poets. He has been featured on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Jet Magazine and named one of Newsweek鈥檚 鈥�15 People Who Make America Great.鈥� His Emmy award-winning film An American Prophecy was honored by numerous festivals, while his digital art project, Fractured History, has exhibited to rave reviews.
Aaron is also a leading social entrepreneur having founded the globally-recognized Sphinx Organization, the leading arts organization with the mission of transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. He also serves as host of the nationally-broadcast Arts Engines show with a weekly viewership of over 100,000. Aaron is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is the recipient of honors including the National Governors Association Distinguished Service to State Government Award, BET鈥檚 History Makers in the Making Award and Detroit Symphony Orchestra鈥檚 Lifetime Achievement Award and been named Detroit News鈥檚 Michiganian of the Year and the National Black MBA鈥檚 Entrepreneur of The Year.
A sought-after global thought leader and passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, excellence in arts education, entrepreneurship, and leadership, as well as inclusion in the performing arts, Aaron is a frequent keynote speaker and lecturer at numerous universities and global arts, creativity, and technology conferences and is on the roster of the prestigious APB speakers bureau. He is a member of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) and has served on the Board of Directors or Advisory Boards for numerous influential arts organizations including the National Council on the Arts, Knight Foundation, Motown Museum, National Association of Performing Arts Professionals, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Independent Sector, League of American Orchestras, Ann Arbor Area Foundation, Michigan Theater and Chamber Music America. Having raised over $50 million for philanthropic causes, Aaron personifies creative leadership, entrepreneurship, and community service with an unwavering passion for the arts, diversity, and their role in society.
Aaron has a myriad of life interests including innovation, creativity, human pair bonding and is passionate about social impact having founded a homeless organization and a literary magazine. He is an avid kayaker, poker aficionado and boater, having captained multiple crossings of the Gulfstream. He is an explorer of the culinary arts and a consummate movie enthusiast watching over 150 films every year. He is married to Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, a prominent international arts leader who serves as President and Artistic Director of the Sphinx Organization and has two awesome sons, Noah Still and Amani Jaise.
The residency is presented by 91暗网鈥檚 Office of Special Programs and Arts Administration Program.