The Artist in Residence develops and shares new work; engages students, researchers, and the public; offers opportunities for skill- and knowledge-sharing workshops; and creates space for personal inquiry and collaborative relationships to flourish. Aided by the Center’s collection of over 1,000 rare books and manuscripts, gardens, and meadowscape, artists explore the ways in which their work intersects with Renaissance (1490-1750) thought and craft to produce work that generates new perspectives on the relationship between the early modern world and our own.
AyreCraft, the Center’s Musicians in Residence, perform English lute songs, Child ballads, and folk tunes on the lute and viol. As regular performers in our concert series and holiday gatherings, their concerts often creatively feature pairings of 16th and 17th-century English music with today’s popular and folk music hits.
The Players Project is a small company (6-10) of Five College actors working on modern texts that are influenced by the Renaissance. This includes modern plays set in the Renaissance, modern interpretations of Renaissance texts, and contemporary plays that deal with major themes from the Renaissance.