The UT School of Visual and Performing Arts, and its partners, will present a dialogue on “The Role of Arts in Today’s America” Monday, Feb. 20.
“The purpose of the symposium is to broaden the dialogue and to build a regional coalition with a voice,” Debra A. Davis, director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, said. “Our partners include the Toledo Museum of Art, the Arts Commission and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.”
Lucas
Will Lucas will give the keynote address. He is the founder and CEO of A William Lucas Co., which is home to several technology and media-related businesses, including Creadio, a brand marketing technology company servicing nationally recognized brands since 2007, and Classana, an online platform that helps companies organize educational resources. He also is a co-founder of ICON, a photography on-demand service, and is one of the few young minority TEDx organizers in the United States; he curates the Technology Entertainment Design talk in Toledo.
Lucas, who graduated from the University in 2015, was appointed to the UT Board of Trustees by Gov. John Kasich in February 2016. He serves as vice chair of the board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.
Session topics will be “Our Current Artistic Moment,” a timely subject exploring concerns about artistic responses to the current social and political moment; “Programming the Arts Across a Divide,” which looks at the challenges of creating meaningful arts events across a range of divides — urban, rural, cultural, ethnic, economic and others; “Arts in Education,” which examines how to ensure that the arts continue to occupy a valued place in the curriculum along with other disciplines; and “Arts and Community,” which considers what is needed to sustain the organizations and projects that provide arts experiences and services to diverse communities.
A complete schedule, including information about the panelists, is available online at utoledo.edu/al/svpa/symposium/schedule.html.
The Arts Symposium will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m. Sessions will take place in Thompson Student Union Room 2592, and the luncheon will be held in the Thompson Student Union Ingman Room.
Box lunches for the keynote address are available for purchase in advance. Attendees do not need to order a lunch to attend the keynote address; they are welcome to bring their own lunch.
RSVP online at utoledo.edu/al/svpa/symposium or call 419.530.7356.
