The School of Performing Arts and Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library are preparing to host three nationally recognized artists and thought leaders to the Blacksburg Public Library this spring to address the question: “What role do arts and culture play in building and maintaining healthy communities?”

The talks, titled “The Power and Practice of Art in Healthy Communities,” are presented through the biannual colloquium series. Speaker dates are Feb. 8, March 21, and April 4. 

Mei Ann Teo, co-artistic leader of Ping Chong and Company in New York City, will speak on Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. Teo will draw from their extensive theatre career domestically and abroad to explore the place and function of theatre in the social and political life of communities as they evolve. Additionally, they will offer insight into the challenges and rewards of transition through the lens of Ping Chong and Company’s leadership transitions from its founder to a new distributive leadership model.

Harold Steward, executive director for the New England Foundation for the Arts  continues the series on March 21 at 4:30 p.m. As a national thought leader on cultural strategies and lifelong community builder, Steward will offer cultural strategies and critically important perspectives in the context of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social upheavals shaping our lives as artists and individuals in community.

Rounding out the series on April 4 at 4:30 p.m., Virginia Tech alumna Megan Carney, who graduated in 2008 with a Master of Fine Arts in theatre arts, returns to Blacksburg to share her journey as a theatre maker and community builder based in Chicago. From her experience as the artistic director of About Face Theatre and founder of About Face Youth Theatre, Carney will share her thoughts on relevant and effective community-based theatre-making. Expanding on the importance of arts and culture to the health and well-being of our communities, she will share her thoughts on the roles of theatre organizations, practices, and forms of theatre at this moment in time.

All talks in this series are free and open to the public to spark relevant, open dialogue about the value of art in our communities. Attendees are welcome to participate in person at the Blacksburg Public Library or join via Zoom.

Registration is required and available online.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Susan Sanders at susansan@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.

Written by Ashley Cooper, a Master of Fine Arts in theatre and arts leadership candidate

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