UWP welcomes “Creative Campus” expert Silagh White

Silagh White returns to Kenosha Friday & Saturday.

Silagh White is coming home this week and she has a message for her hometown: The arts can play an important role in revitalizing a region, not just culturally but from an economic standpoint as well. White, who serves as director of ArtsLehigh, a program at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania designed to encourage the arts as part of campus and community redevelopment plans, speaks in Kenosha Friday and at UW-Parkside Saturday.

Saturday, White leads a Community/Campus Dialogue titled "Connecting Communities and Campus: The Role of the Arts and Humanities in Creating a Cultural and Economic Renaissance for the Region." The program will focus on the "Creative Campus" national initiative that encourages community partnerships among regional educational institutions, artists and arts organizations, tourism agencies, and local businesses. It focuses on sustainable strategies for creating cultural and economic "renaissances" within communities.

The program takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the university's Galbraith Room in Wyllie Hall. She makes a public presentation at the Kenosha Public Museum Friday, April 27, starting at 2 p.m.

White's passion for the arts ignited as a member of the Kenosha CYO Band and in the musical theatre program at St. Joseph High School. After college, she honed her arts management skills with the Toledo's Performing Arts Council before arriving at Lehigh in the former steel making town of Bethlehem in 2005 to lead ArtsLehigh. 

Having worked with a number of campuses and communities across the country, White will address the influence of the arts and humanities on economic redevelopment, and facilitate a conversation about the role and impact cultural activities can have on economic prosperity in southeastern Wisconsin. She will talk about her experience with the city of Bethlehem Arts Commission. She also will address the influence of the arts on economic redevelopment, as well as the obstacles and successes that the City of Bethlehem Arts Commission has encountered through its efforts.

Silagh White's Friday Kenosha Public Museum presentation was organized by the city's Commission on the Arts, with support from UW-Parkside, the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Kenosha Area Business Alliance. Her Saturday campus visit is a collaboration between the UW-Parkside College of Arts and Sciences, the Kenosha Arts Commission, and the Racine Arts Council.

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Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 4/24/2012

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