As part of a bold new initiative to animate the galleries with contemporary performances and integrate dance into exhibitions and programs, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum proudly announces that Peter DiMuro will become the Museum’s first Choreographer-in-Residence.
Peter DiMuro named Gardner's first Choreographer-in-Residence
As part of a bold new initiative to animate the galleries with contemporary performances and integrate dance into exhibitions and programs, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum proudly announces that Peter DiMuro will become the Museum’s first Choreographer-in-Residence. This residency is both an extension of the Gardner’s long-standing Artist-in-Residency program and a continuation of its commitment to multidisciplinary programming and partnerships in keeping with its founder’s vision and legacy.
“Integrating dance into our galleries and programs with a new Choreographer-in-Residence is very much in the spirit of Isabella Stewart Gardner and truly part of our DNA,” said Peggy Fogelman, the Museum’s Norma Jean Calderwood Director. “Gardner believed in and supported all art forms, bringing them together in her immersive installation. She cultivated relationships with painters, writers, dancers, and musicians so we welcome this infusion of dance into the Museum. It is an honor to have Peter in this new position.”
DiMuro, a performer, choreographer, director, teacher, and arts engager, is Executive Artistic Director of Dance Complex in Cambridge, one of Boston's major dance centers. Since 2013, DiMuro has been an enterprising leader who worked tirelessly to help grow the organization. Peter was a rising young dancer in Boston, before joining internationally acclaimed Liz Lerman’s Dance Exchange where he spent many years as a performer, lead artist, and ultimately, Artistic Director. Currently, he also directs Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion, an inter-generational company of diverse dancers/artists that develops performance works and promotes arts literacy and engagement.
The Gardner Museum’s new Choreographer-in-Residence program is supported by The Andrew Mellon W. Foundation and is part of the Museum’s mission to develop visionary multidisciplinary exhibitions, projects, and partnerships that animate the collection. The Mellon Foundation also generously supports the Museum’s Visiting Curator of Performing Arts George Steel who has invited jazz musicians, choral singers, dancers, and spoken word artists to perform at the Museum this year.
During his year-long residency beginning January 2018, DiMuro will choreograph contemporary dance pieces that respond to the Museum’s collection and spaces in collaboration with Gardner curators. “It is thrilling for me to build a deeper connection to the Gardner and to Isabella herself, and create dances in dialogue with the unique and awe-inspiring collection,” DiMuro said. “Illuminating the galleries, programs, and exhibitions through movement in such a culturally rich place has endless possibilities. I can't wait to begin.”
Over his career, DiMuro has been named a White House Millennial Artist, a Schonberg (Boston) Fellow at The Yard, recipient of a Boston Dance Alliance Fellowship and Boston Foundation’s Next Step grant. Peter has taught dance all over the country and internationally at universities, colleges, and festivals. His choreography has been commissioned by leading international presenters and has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, MetLife and many state arts agencies. He has served on numerous boards including Dance Umbrella/Boston, National Performance Network, Dance/USA, and as a mentor and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council, and DC Commission for the Arts. He holds a master’s in fine arts in dance from Connecticut College and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts for theatre from Drake University. This May, he became the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Salem State University.