ArtsEmerson

ArtsEmerson is a non-profit, professional theater and film presenting and producing organization in Boston, Massachusetts. Based on an idea from Emerson College President Jackie Liebergott and founded in 2010 by theatrical producer Robert Orchard, ArtsEmerson is part of the Office for the Arts at Emerson College's Boston campus. The organization presents and produces theatrical performances, films, and public dialogues across several Emerson College venues and in other locations in Greater Boston.

ArtsEmerson's first season in 2010–11 presented 17 theater productions, 92 films, and four concerts.

Robert Orchard founded ArtsEmerson and was its first executive director. In 2012, David Dower joined the organization as Director of Artistic Programs. P. Carl joined ArtsEmerson as Creative Director in 2013, after joinging the Office of the Arts as Director of HowlRound. In 2015, Robert Orchard shifted to the role of Founder and Creative Consultant and David C. Howse joined as executive director. Also in 2015, David Dower, P. Carl, and David Howse began a "three-legged" leadership period, sharing leadership as two co-Artistic Directors (Dower and Carl) and an executive director (Howse). This partnership which continued until P. Carl's departure in 2017. David Dower departed in 2021. ArtsEmerson is currently under interim leadership of Interim Executive Director of the Office of the Arts & ArtsEmerson Director of Artistic Programming, Ronee Penoi (Laguna Pueblo/Cherokee). Penoi joined ArtsEmerson in 2021. Penoi currently co-leads Office of the Arts with Jamie Gahlon, the Associate Vice President of Office of the Arts and Director of HowlRound.

ArtsEmerson was named "Boston's Best Theater" by Boston magazine in 2013 and again in 2015. In 2019, WBUR recognized ArtsEmerson as a "A Model For Equity In The Arts", stating, "From its inception, ArtsEmerson has instituted programs at the intersection of civic dialogue and artistic exploration that have expanded its audience and engaged communities that arts organizations have historically ignored."

With the guidance of a teaching artist, Play Reading Book Club (PRBC) participants read and discuss selected plays from each ArtsEmerson season, over a four-week period. PRBC participants attend the play they have studied, attend a reception and private question and answer session with a creative member of the production, and receive resources to enhance the experience of a live theater performance.

After selected performances, audience members, artists, and members of the ArtsEmerson staff hold discussions related to performance content.

The Community Curators program allows Boston artists and organizers to produce events in ArtsEmerson's downtown spaces. Two consistent Community Curators programs are the film-based series' Shared Stories and Projecting Connections.

Shared Stories is a monthly film series presented by ArtsEmerson in collaboration with the Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), CineFest Latino Boston, and the Roxbury Film Festival. ArtsEmerson also presents Projecting Connections: Chinese American Experiences, a film series highlighting the lives of the Chinese in the Greater Boston Area.