Ohio State’s fourth artist laureate will focus his work on America’s 250th birthday and what it may represent for Ohioans.
Charles O. Anderson, professor of Afro-contemporary dance and choreographic methods and the newest artist laureate, will travel the state, Ohio State’s regional campuses and work with communities that may not have been previously centered in mainstream art spaces, according to Ohio State News. The title of artist laureate has existed at the university since 2023 as a way to bring arts programming to underserved communities across the state. A selected laureate is granted financial support for a 50% course release for the academic year and $15,000 for travel to share their work within various Ohio communities.
Anderson’s proposed project, “Croatoa: Re-Singing America’s Next 250 Years,” efforts to build connections among Ohio residents, even if people have different views and perspectives. For Anderson, the country’s 250th birthday is “an opportunity to look both backward and forward.”
“Many commemorations focus on where we have been; this project asks where we want to go,” Anderson said in an email. “It treats the anniversary not as a conclusion, but as a point of departure – a chance to collectively imagine the next chapter of the American story.”
Anderson’s use of “Croatoa” is in reference to the famous mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. A group of English settlers sailed to Roanoke Island – off the coast of North Carolina – in 1587, led by John White. White decided to sail back to England a month after arriving to gather more supplies and settlers.
When he returned in 1590, the colony had disappeared, and he found the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree trunk. Croatoan is present-day Hatteras Island and also refers to the Croatoan native tribe that lived there.
“As a longtime reader of speculative fiction, I have always been fascinated by the possibilities hidden within that story,” Anderson said. “Rather than viewing Roanoke as a disappearance, I imagine an alternate history in which a new society emerged – one that found ways to confront the challenges and contradictions that continue to shape American life.”
This mystery is why Anderson ties “Croatoa” into America’s 250th anniversary: The U.S. and Croatoa are both a “place and a possibility.”
“A way of asking what kind of nation we might create over the next 250 years,” Anderson said in an email.
Anderson’s project involves two-day residencies, connecting Ohio State’s regional campuses with various partner institutions where participants will engage in storytelling circles, creative movement and collaborative workshops.
“Together, we will gather personal stories, local histories, hopes, and concerns about the future,” Anderson said in an email. “These experiences will become source material for a larger performance project that will evolve throughout my Artist Laureate year.”
A group of undergraduate and graduate Ohio State students will travel with Anderson to serve as facilitators and collaborators during the residencies, according to Ohio State Arts.
Lisa Florman, vice provost for the arts and history of art professor, said in an Ohio State News story that Anderson’s project fits into the goals of the artist laureate role at Ohio State.
“His project utilizes his experiences as an academic leader and as a professional choreographer and dancer and combines those with collaborative engagement practices in ways that directly align with the goals of the Artist Laureate initiative, to co-create work with Ohio communities often underserved by the arts,” said Lisa Florman, vice provost for the arts and history of art professor.
Anderson will begin his one-year appointment July 1.
Reporting intern Nora Igelnik can be reached at nigelnik@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State’s artist laureate views America250 as a unique opportunity
Reporting by Nora Igelnik, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Nora Igelnik, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
