Toni Morrison on State of the Arts (2000)

In 1994, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison (1931 – 2019) founded the Princeton Atelier at Princeton University, a unique academic program that brings together professional artists from different disciplines to create new work in the context of a semester-long course. Morrison was the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton, and her 17-year career there helped to lay the foundation for the creation of the Lewis Center for the Arts, which now encompasses Princeton’s academic programs in creative writing, dance, theater, music theater, and visual arts, in addition to the Atelier. The year after her retirement from teaching in 2006, Morrison was among the many celebrating the launch the Lewis Center. This segment on the Princeton Atelier from the State of the Arts archives, featuring an interview with Morrison, was produced in 2000. State of the Arts is a co-production of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Stockton University, in cooperation with PCK Media. The Emmy Award-winning series airs on NJTV, WHYY, WNET, and ALL ARTS. See more New Jersey arts and culture content at https://www.stateoftheartsnj.com/.