NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
BARTLESVILLE TO HOST OKLAHOMA LEADERSHIP ARTS SESSION
Oklahoma City, OK –The city of Bartlesville will host the second session of Leadership Arts on March 19 and 20, 2009. Created by the Oklahoma Arts Council to develop a statewide network of community arts leaders and advocates, Executive Director Suzanne Tate said she is pleased that Bartlesville is hosting the session. “Bartlesville has such a dynamic arts community and we’re proud that two individuals from this community were accepted to participate in this exciting opportunity,” said Tate.
Bartlesville Community Center’s Managing Director Bud Sexson and Executive Director of the Bartlesville Symphony Lee GrothOlson will join 33 other arts leaders from across the state for the 2009 Leadership Arts class.
Sexson said he “is excited for the occasion to showcase the arts programs of Bartlesville and to be a part of an Oklahoma Arts Council learning opportunity. To have a chance to talk about arts education and a possible arts district in Bartlesville will be awesome.”
Attendees will learn how arts and cultural development can be harnessed to create economic opportunity, provide a high quality of community life, and ignite the creative potential of Oklahoma’s youth. The session in Bartlesville will include a panel discussion by community arts and business leaders on how to create a vibrant downtown arts district including Tim Boruff, Executive Director of the Price Tower Arts Center; Justin McLaughlin, Vice President of the Bartlesville Economic Development Corporation; and Emily Call, Vice President of the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce.
Another community panel with representatives from Bartlesville arts organizations will discuss arts education outreach. This panel includes Scott Black, Executive Director, OK Mozart; Tracy Caughell, Board Member, Bartlesville Children’s Musical Theatre; Nora Kelly, Education Director, Price Tower Arts Center; Joanie Elmore, Allied Arts and Humanities Council of Bartlesville; Morris McCorvey, Executive Director Westside Community Center; Lee GrothOlson, Executive Director, Bartlesville Symphony; and Kathy Zervas, Board Member, Bartlesville Civic Ballet.
Participants will enjoy a tour of the Price Tower Arts Center on Thursday evening as well as the Bartlesville Community Center on Friday morning. Community partners for this session include Price Tower Arts Center, Inn at Price Tower, Bartlesville Community Center, Hotel Phillips, Bartlesville Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as arts and economic leaders from Bartlesville. This program is a project of the Oklahoma Arts Council n partnership with NBC Oklahoma, Eastern Oklahoma State College, and the communities of Lawton, Bartlesville and Ada. The program is funded by NBC Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The next sessions will be held in Ada and Oklahoma City. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend the Statewide Conference on the Arts scheduled for October 7 – 9 in Stillwater.
For more information about the Leadership Arts Program visit the Oklahoma Arts Council’s website at www.arts.ok.gov or Cultural Development Director Georgia Williams at (405) 521.2024.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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