| MEDIA CONTACT: Stacia
Smith
561-297-2971, ssmith@fau.edu FAU
Conference Addresses Art in Community Spaces BOCA
RATON, FL (March 2, 2004) - Have you ever wondered
how our community surroundings affect the quality of our lives? The Public Intellectuals
Student Association of the Ph.D. in Comparative Studies program offered in Florida
Atlantic University's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will explore
the power of the arts in enhancing the quality of community space at the "Arts,
Culture and Society Conference." The conference takes place on Saturday,
March 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Performing Arts Building, Room 101 on
FAU's Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. A public reception will be held at the
Schmidt Center Gallery at 5 p.m. to view the works of four area artists currently
on display. All sessions are free and open to the public.
During
the conference, world-class speakers will address how creative thinkers and artists
contribute to the use of public space for positive social change. Attendees will
have the chance to get involved by participating in a brainstorming session to
develop ideas for upgrading a local community site.
The
conference will open with remarks from FAU President Frank Brogan and Schmidt
College Associate Dean and Director of FAU's Ph.D. in Comparative Studies Anthony
Tamburri. The keynote address will be delivered by Evan Eisenberg, author of the
highly acclaimed The Ecology of Eden. He will provide an overview of the role
of the arts in engendering positive social change. Eisenberg's writings on nature,
culture and technology have appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic, Natural
History and other publications.
A second
conference speaker will be sculptor, architect and visiting FAU Eminent Scholar
Michael Singer. He will lead the creative design session on improving our communities
with art. Singer has received numerous awards, including fellowships from the
National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon
Guggenheim Foundation. His design projects integrate large-scale public work infrastructures
with aesthetic and community values. Singer's art work has been displayed in major
museums including the Metropolitan, the Museum of Modern Art and a one-person
show at the Guggenheim.
Other presenters
include Tom Finkelpearl, current executive director of the Queens Museum of Art,
past director of the New York City Public Art Program and author of Dialogues
in Public Art. He will make a presentation on how artists' work can change perceptions
of social issues. Also, Carol Gould, a professor in FAU's department of philosophy,
will chair a panel discussion featuring guest speakers and prominent members of
the community.
There will be music and
visual arts presentations throughout the day. One of the presentations will be
by James Cunningham, professor in FAU's department of music, who will be giving
a demonstration on the ways that sound can be incorporated into a space.
To
encourage young people to attend the conference, the University Galleries Museum
Education Program will have a program for high school-aged youths (13-18) including
tours of current FAU art exhibitions and hands-on art activities. These tours,
which will be led by FAU undergraduate art students, will include a sculpture
and video installation by Miami artist Hernan Bas; installations in the Schmidt
Center Gallery Public Space by Paul Aho, Francie Bishop Good and Madeline Denaro;
the annual juried FAU student art exhibition and the Arthur and Mata Jaffe Collection
of Artists Books, a remarkable collection of one-of-a-kind objects in the University's
library. The hands-on art projects are partially sponsored by the Center for Holocaust
and Human Rights Education, FAU College of Education.
For
information on the full program, go to www.comparativestudies.fau.edu or contact
Stefanie Gapinski at 561-297-0155. To register for the student program with the
University Galleries, call 561-297-2966.
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