Arts Commission To Unite University And Community Efforts

9-12-97
University Park, Pa. -- From minerals to Mozart, Penn State, arts organizations and individuals from the community are uniting their efforts to promote the arts, creating new opportunities for town and gown collaboration. At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Penn State's HUB Galleries the Commission for the Advancement of the Arts will deliver a progress report.

The presentation will follow an 8:30 a.m. meeting of the commission, also at the HUB Galleries, which is open to the public.

Representatives from the Chamber of Business and Industry, the Centre County Visitor's Bureau, the Bellefonte Chamber of Commerce, the Bellefonte Tourism Commission and the Downtown State College Partnership will discuss arts initiatives in the community. State College Mayor Bill Welch, Bellefonte Mayor Candace Dannaker, Penn State President Graham Spanier, Dean of the College of Arts and Architecture Neil Porterfield and Ann Benzel, member of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, will attend the 11 a.m. public announcement. A question and answer session will follow.

The commission's accomplishments during its first year of operation include the development of "The Arts in Central Pennsylvania" brochure listing 63 arts organizations, which will be distributed throughout the area; an ongoing forum for public discussion called "Conversation on the Arts" and a student survey examining the status of the arts in the region.

"The brochure and the cooperative effort between Penn State and the art community are an outgrowth of meetings held last year called 'Conversation on the Arts,'" says Grace Hampton, executive assistant to the provost for the development of the arts. "Individual artists, art organizations, cultural organizations, government officials, merchants and townspeople are being gathered for discussions about the visibility of and funding for the arts."

Charlene Friedman, president of Downtown State College Partnership, Inc., is pleased that the arts in Central Pennsylvania will be gaining increased visibility, with organizations, business and community working together.

"There are a wealth of opportunities to engage in the arts in Central Pennsylvania. We need to increase awareness of the arts and increase collaboration between campus and the community," says Friedman.

Community members interested in the arts are encouraged to attend the 8:30 a.m. Conversation on the Arts as well as the public announcement at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. For more information about the brochure or the event, contact Grace Hampton at (814) 863-5408, e-mail gxh2@cde.psu.edu; or visit their web site at http://www.communityarts.psu.edu.

**kiw**

Contact: Karen I. Wagner (814) 865-7517 (office) (814) 867-0797 (home) kiw1@psu.edu