Penn Participates in "Arts & The City Year" in Philadelphia 2009 - 2010

Penn will be involved in Philadelphia's Arts & The City Year in 2009 and 2010. The Provosts office describes it as such: "Penn’s Arts & the City Year celebrates arts and culture across our campus – and throughout our neighborhood, city, and region. It features an exciting range of events in Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, from dynamic student performances and distinguished guest artists, to vital discussions about national arts policy, the role of the arts in public health, and the importance of civic engagement with arts and culture. With its array of diverse perspectives, the Arts & the City Year spotlights Penn’s commitment to knowledge that crosses disciplines and boundaries, while reaffirming the essential role of arts and culture in campus and city life."

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The university is changing its approach as part of a new campaign it will officially launch next month, called "Arts & The City Year." In addition to the orientation project, Penn plans "arts crawls" around the city, and an arts "passport" to art and cultural institutions with discounts and prizes for students. An "art in public health" series, arts seminars, and a variety of other programs also are planned to put students more in touch with the art venues on campus and around the region. "We're focusing on the role of arts in building community," said Penn provost Vincent Price. "We just have an enormous array of institutions on campus and in our larger region. We want to build greater student awareness." Penn officials also hope the focus on arts this year will forge stronger ties between arts institutions on campus and those in the community."

Homecoming Weekend (Nov. 5-8, 2009) will be incorporated into the "Arts & the City Year".
Organized, in large part, by Sheila Raman, Director of Arts & Culture at Penn; and Hoopes Wampler, Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations. For more info, contact the alumni office at alumni[at]dev.upenn.edu, PennDesign alumni office at pdalumni[at]design.upenn.edu, or MFA alumna Elizabeth Lim at lime[at]alumni.upenn.edu

For more information about Arts & The City Year, please visit www.upenn.edu/provost/artsyear
For more information about Penn's Homecoming role, please visit www.alumni.upenn.edu/homecoming2009/