Washington, DC -- NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as Topeka and Lawrence, Kansas, March 12–15, 2012, as part of his Art Works tour. In each city, Chairman Landesman will meet with arts organizations and arts and civic leaders to learn about their efforts to use the arts to create vibrant, livable communities.
On March 12, Landesman will begin his visit to Arkansas by visiting the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. He will then travel to Fayetteville to visit three arts organizations -- TheatreSquared, the Northwest Arkansas Community Creative Center, and the Walton Arts Center. On the morning of March 13, Landesman will visit the Argenta Arts District in Little Rock, meeting with the Argenta Arts Foundation, Argenta Community Theatre, and Thea Foundation. He will then join Mayor Mark Stodola in a tour of downtown Little Rock to learn more about the city’s efforts to create a cultural corridor on Main Street. The design phase for this project is supported by an NEA
Our Town grant. At 4:00 p.m., Landesman will take part in a public panel discussion on creative placemaking in Arkansas at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Arkansas’s First Lady, Ginger Beebe, will provide opening remarks at this panel.
On March 14, Landesman will visit Topeka, Kansas, to learn more about the development of the North Topeka (NOTO) Arts District. He will begin by touring the district and then meet with key stakeholders in the project. Landesman will then take part in a public panel discussion about the NOTO project and the benefits of creative placemaking in Kansas. On March 15, Landesman will visit Lawrence, Kansas. After meeting with the Lawrence Arts Center and the Percolator, Landesman will visit the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas to participate in a panel discussion on creative placemaking.
Please see the full schedule below for more information on all of these events.
Monday, March 12: Bentonville & Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| 10:00 am-
12:00 pm |
Tour of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Don Bacigalupi, director, Crystal Bridges Museum
Sandy Edwards, deputy director, Museum Relations, Crystal Bridges Museum
Location: 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712
|
| 2:15-2:45 pm |
Meeting with TheatreSquared
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Robert Ford, artistic director, TheatreSquared
Martin Miller, managing director, TheatreSquared
Location: 505 W. Spring Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701
|
| 2:45-3:15 pm |
Meeting with Northwest Arkansas Community Creative Center
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Susan Hutchcroft, executive director, Northwest Arkansas
Community Creative Center
Location: 505 W. Spring Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701
|
| 3:15-3:45 pm |
Meeting with Walton Arts Center
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Peter B. Lane, president/CEO, Walton Arts Center
Barb Putman, foundation relations officer, Walton Arts
Center
Location: 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701
|
Tuesday, March 13: Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 9:00-9:30 am |
Meeting with Argenta arts leaders and North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays
Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114
|
| 9:30–10:00 am |
Meeting with Argenta Arts Foundation
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
John Gaudin, board member, Argenta Arts Foundation
Donna Hardcastle, executive director, Argenta Arts
Foundation
Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114
|
| 10:00–10:30 am |
Tour of Argenta Community Theatre
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Vincent Insalaco, co-founder & artistic director, Argenta
Community Theatre
Judy Tenenbaum, co-founder & president, Argenta
Community Theatre
Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114
|
| 10:30-11:00 am |
Meeting with Thea Foundation
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Paul David Leopoulos, director, Thea Foundation
Nicholas Leopoulos, assistant director, Thea Foundation
Location: 401 Main Street, Suite 100, North Little Rock, AR 72114
|
| 11:30-1:00 pm |
Meeting with City of Little Rock about Our Town project
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Mayor Mark Stodola
Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council
Steve Luoni, University of Arkansas Center for Community
Design
Marlon Blackwell, architect
Caran Curry, grants manager, city of Little Rock
Location: 523 Louisiana St # 305 Little Rock, AR 72201
|
| 4:00-5:00 pm |
Panel discussion about creative placemaking in Arkansas, moderated by Joy Pennington, Arkansas Arts Council, with opening remarks by Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe
* This event is free and open to the public. Reception to follow.
Location: Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
|
Wednesday, March 14 |
| 2:30-3:00 pm |
Tour of North Topeka Arts District
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
John Hunter, NOTO Arts District
Anita Wolgast, NOTO Arts District
Location: North Topeka Community Arts Center, 922 North Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608
|
| 3:00-4:00 pm |
Meeting with key stakeholders in North Topeka Arts District
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Doug Kensinger, CEO of the Topeka Chamber of
Commerce
Shelly Bueler, Shawnee County Commissioner
Laura Kelly, Senator, Kansas State Legislator
Berry Feaker, executive director, Topeka Rescue Mission
and member of the Quality of Life Foundation for Heartland Visioning
Local artists and business/property owners
Location: Serendipity, 820 N Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608
|
| 4:30-6:00 pm |
Panel discussion about creative placemaking in Topeka, moderated by John Hunter, North Topeka Arts District
* This event is free and open to the public. Reception to follow.
Location: Serendipity, 820 N Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608
|
Thursday, March 15 |
| 9:15-10:00 am |
Meeting with the Lawrence Arts Center
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director, Mid-America
Arts Alliance
Susan Tate, director, Lawrence Arts Center
Location: 940 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence, KS 66044
|
| 10:00-10:30 am |
Meeting with the Percolator
Participants:
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman
Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director, Mid-America
Arts Alliance
Dave Loewenstein, artist
Location: Ninth and New Hampshire Lawrence, KS 66044
|
| 11:30-1:00 pm |
Panel discussion about creative placemaking, moderated by Saralyn Reece Hardy, director, Spencer Museum of Art
* This event is free and open to the public.
Location: Spencer Museum of Art, 1301 Mississippi Street, Lawrence, KS 66045
|
