NEA chairman to visit Spencer Museum of Art
LAWRENCE — National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Lawrence on Thursday, March 15, the latest stop on his nationwide Art Works tour.
While in Lawrence, Landesman will meet with arts and civic leaders to learn about their efforts to use the arts to create vibrant, livable communities. The public is invited to a panel discussion and community conversation on Creative Placemaking with Landesman at 11:30 a.m. at the Spencer Museum of Art, 1301 Mississippi St.
Landesman is touring the nation to visit cities and states to explore the impact of the arts on communities. “We know that when we bring the arts and artists into towns and cities, it changes those places profoundly,” said Landesman. “Creative placemaking is about how the arts can change and transform places, where the arts can intersect with the everyday.”
Landesman is the 10th chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. His career has been a hybrid of commercial and artistic enterprises. After running a private investment fund for 10 years, he became a Broadway theater producer. He has produced several Tony Award-winning shows, including Big River, Angels in America and The Producers. He holds a doctorate in dramatic literature from Yale.
Spencer Museum director Saralyn Reece Hardy will moderate the Creative Placemaking panel discussion. Landesman will be joined by panelists including muralist David Loewenstein; KU professor of geography Jay T. Johnson; environmental architect Bob Berkebile; scholar and author Daniel Wildcat; and Nebraska Arts Council executive director Suzanne Wise.
A reception will follow. Parking is available in the Mississippi Street Garage.