Aaron P. Dworkin

Ypsilanti, MI

Named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, President Obama’s first appointment to the National Council on the Arts and member of President Biden’s Arts Policy Committee, Aaron P. Dworkin is former dean and current professor of arts leadership & entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Dworkin is a bestselling writer and poetjournalist, having authored the poetry collections The Poetjournalist and They Said I Wasn’t Really Black along with other books, including two memoirs, a children’s book, a science fiction novel, and The Entrepreneurial Artist: Lessons from Highly Successful Creatives.

Dworkin founded the Institute for Poetjournalism and originated the term “poetjournalism,” which is defined as “the research, creation, and distribution of writing that evokes an emotional connection to news-related subjects or other relevant ideas utilizing elements of sound, meter, rhythm and/or creative illustration.” He serves as Poetjournalist-in-Residence of the City of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial, the Rodham Institute, Fisher Foundation, Wright Museum of African-American History, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Grantmakers in the Arts, Ovation TV, and Shar Music. Dworkin, a member of the Academy of American Poets, has performed his poetry as a prominent spoken-word artist at Carnegie Hall, Galapagos Theater in New York, Harvard University, Chautauqua, University of Michigan, Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, NJPAC, and the Wright Museum and Orchestra Hall in Detroit. among others. He has been featured on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and CNN, in Jet magazine, and was named one of Newsweek’s “15 People Who Make America Great.” His Emmy Award-winning film An American Prophecy was honored by numerous festivals, while his digital art project, Fractured History, has exhibited to rave reviews.

Dworkin is also a leading social entrepreneur having founded the globally recognized Sphinx Organization, the leading arts organization with the mission of transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. He also serves as host of the nationally broadcast Arts Engines show with a weekly viewership of over 100,000. Dworkin is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is the recipient of honors including the National Governors Association Distinguished Service to State Government Award, BET’s History Makers in the Making Award, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been named Detroit News’s Michiganian of the Year and the National Black MBA’s Entrepreneur of the Year. He is married to Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, a prominent international arts leader who serves as president and artistic director of the Sphinx Organization and has two sons, Noah Still and Amani Jaise.