2024: The Year in Review
A remarkable merger with University of the Arts dance. A class devoted to strengthening democratic discourse. Literary luminaries like journalist Michael Pollan '76 and poet and memoirist Safiya Sinclair '10 returning to meet students and families.
2024 brought notable alumni and artists back to campus and brought Bennington's aesthetic and influence to the world.
Safiya Sinclair
In June, poet and memoirist Safiya Sinclair ’10 addressed the class of 2024 at Commencement.
Sinclair is the author of the memoir How to Say Babylon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Kirkus Prize, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize in Nonfiction. How to Say Babylon was named one of the 100 Notable Books of the year by the New York Times, a TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2023, and one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023.
Creating an Unprecedented Alliance
In a rapid effort to preserve the dance programs shut down by the unexpected closure of the University of the Arts (UArts) on June 7, Bennington College summoned its forces, in collaboration with the UArts dance program, and welcomed students and faculty from the shuttered college’s BFA program this fall.
Reflections on Reginald Shepherd '88
More than 100 people attended the Ben Belitt Colloquium on Arts and Literary Culture on May 15, 2024. Nearly forty more tuned into the live stream online. They were there to learn more about an underrecognized member of the Bennington College literary community in the 1980s: Queer Black poet and essayist Reginald Shepherd ’88.
Everything Michael Pollan '76 Loved About Bennington College is Still True
New York Times bestseller Michael Pollan ’76 returned to Bennington in October to address students and their families during Fall Weekend. Pollan spoke about the close mentorship Bennington students receive from faculty, noting that in his education, “Our teachers took us very seriously. [...] It caused us to take ourselves seriously.”
A Full-Circle Moment
Acclaimed director and theater artist Robert Wilson visited Bennington College for a three-day residency in September. The Dance and Drama programs jointly hosted Wilson, which allowed him to share his astonishing aesthetic universe with students, staff, faculty, and the public.
Saving Democracy Together
Leading up to the 2024 elections, Bennington College's Center for the Advancement of Public Action hosted Saving Democracy Together, a seven-week course open to the Bennington College community and beyond that hosted expert-led discussions with leading thinkers on how best to preserve and strengthen our Democracy.
Rhythm in All Layers of Existence
The extraordinary practices and predilections of longtime Bennington faculty member, legendary jazz innovator, and tireless polymath Milford Graves (1941-2021) came to life during Spring 2024 in Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal. This nationally traveling exhibition took on historic resonance in the Bennington context.
A Mind-Body Deal is curated by Mark Christman, executive artistic director of Ars Nova Workshop in Philadelphia, with curatorial research by Jake Meginsky ’09, and organized for Bennington by Usdan Gallery Director and Curator Anne Thompson.
Safiya Sinclair
In June, poet and memoirist Safiya Sinclair ’10 addressed the class of 2024 at Commencement.
Sinclair is the author of the memoir How to Say Babylon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Kirkus Prize, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize in Nonfiction. How to Say Babylon was named one of the 100 Notable Books of the year by the New York Times, a TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2023, and one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023.
Creating an Unprecedented Alliance
In a rapid effort to preserve the dance programs shut down by the unexpected closure of the University of the Arts (UArts) on June 7, Bennington College summoned its forces, in collaboration with the UArts dance program, and welcomed students and faculty from the shuttered college’s BFA program this fall.
Reflections on Reginald Shepherd '88
More than 100 people attended the Ben Belitt Colloquium on Arts and Literary Culture on May 15, 2024. Nearly forty more tuned into the live stream online. They were there to learn more about an underrecognized member of the Bennington College literary community in the 1980s: Queer Black poet and essayist Reginald Shepherd ’88.
Everything Michael Pollan '76 Loved About Bennington College is Still True
New York Times bestseller Michael Pollan ’76 returned to Bennington in October to address students and their families during Fall Weekend. Pollan spoke about the close mentorship Bennington students receive from faculty, noting that in his education, “Our teachers took us very seriously. [...] It caused us to take ourselves seriously.”
A Full-Circle Moment
Acclaimed director and theater artist Robert Wilson visited Bennington College for a three-day residency in September. The Dance and Drama programs jointly hosted Wilson, which allowed him to share his astonishing aesthetic universe with students, staff, faculty, and the public.
Saving Democracy Together
Leading up to the 2024 elections, Bennington College's Center for the Advancement of Public Action hosted Saving Democracy Together, a seven-week course open to the Bennington College community and beyond that hosted expert-led discussions with leading thinkers on how best to preserve and strengthen our Democracy.
Rhythm in All Layers of Existence
The extraordinary practices and predilections of longtime Bennington faculty member, legendary jazz innovator, and tireless polymath Milford Graves (1941-2021) came to life during Spring 2024 in Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal. This nationally traveling exhibition took on historic resonance in the Bennington context.
A Mind-Body Deal is curated by Mark Christman, executive artistic director of Ars Nova Workshop in Philadelphia, with curatorial research by Jake Meginsky ’09, and organized for Bennington by Usdan Gallery Director and Curator Anne Thompson.
Safiya Sinclair
In June, poet and memoirist Safiya Sinclair ’10 addressed the class of 2024 at Commencement.
Sinclair is the author of the memoir How to Say Babylon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Kirkus Prize, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize in Nonfiction. How to Say Babylon was named one of the 100 Notable Books of the year by the New York Times, a TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2023, and one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023.