New Initiative Focuses on the Arts

A new initiative at Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College will connect community and campus-based arts experiences and resources in North Central West Virginia to engage students, teachers, artists and patrons.

"The capacity of arts engagement to enrich life and learning is readily acknowledged in 21st century West Virginia, making increased opportunities for people to explore, perform, create and relate to the arts, an increasingly important goal for communities," said Peter Lach, Dean of the FSU School of Fine Arts. "Arts engagement is a cornerstone in a foundation that supports the development of creative industries and participation in the new creative economy and global ecology."

The Center for Arts Engagement at FSU and Pierpont moves beyond traditional arts outreach activities to foster collaboration among community and campus stakeholders to expand the potential of existing resources and to develop new resources to support broader opportunities for arts engagement. The initiative has grown as a result of Goal 2 of FSU and Pierpont's Strategic Plan, which is to cultivate and strengthen the educational, economic and cultural well-being of the region.

At the heart of the Center for Arts Engagement is a collaborative process involving a diverse group of community and campus stakeholders. The Community Collaborative for Arts Engagement includes representatives from each of the six school systems engaged in the FSU Professional Development Schools partnership; from the region's business community; from arts organizations and agencies; from community service organizations serving constituents of all ages; and from the FSU and Pierpont campus.

"About 30 potential members have been invited to join the Community Collaborative for Arts Engagement, and the group will have its first working meeting on September 30," Lach said.

The group will participate in an ongoing community arts engagement planning process, establish a common agenda and identify and secure essential resources to support that agenda.

"The Collaboration provides FSU and our region with a unique opportunity to pool increasingly scarce resources to support arts engagement initiatives and to work together to establish an agenda for programming that really fits the needs of the campus and the community," said Jaci Webb-Dempsey, Associate Professor of Education.

Current opportunities for arts engagement include the Virtual Gallery, hosted by the FSU School of Fine Arts, the Fine Arts Conservatory and fine arts outreach programming.

"The Center's Virtual Gallery is a wonderful example of this mutually beneficial collaboration 'exhibits will be housed in an online environment that will be accessible to public school teachers and their students, as well as the broader community," Webb-Dempsey said. "These exhibits will be accompanied by an online docent program, featuring gallery talks by the exhibiting artists and 21st century lesson plans developed by K-12 and FSU faculty and FSU teacher education students. Teachers will be able to take their students on virtual field trips, without ever leaving their schools, and FSU faculty, students and visiting artists will reach an expanded audience." 

The Fine Arts Conservatory offers opportunities for those of all ages to learn to perform and create in the areas of music, visual art and theatre. Fine arts outreach programming includes touring exhibits and performances that bring the arts to where patrons live and work.

Planning and fund-raising is under way for the renovation of the Wallman Hall Theatre, the Music Library and the Music Rehearsal Space to begin in 2012. A new, energy efficient kiln will be purchased for the FSU ceramics program, and upgraded software and hardware are planned for the Pierpont and FSU Graphics Technology Lab. A Virtual Performance Space is being planned to create an online venue for musical and theatrical performances.

For more information on the Center for Arts Engagement at FSU and Pierpont or for more information on arts offerings, call (304) 367-4219.