UK Hosts Forum to Discuss Public Art on Campus
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 21, 2016) — A University of Kentucky campus forum tonight will examine the role of public art in an educational environment. Hear the thoughts of experts in the fields of art, education and arts administration at "Art in Public Places" 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the UK Athletics Auditorium in the William T. Young Library.
"Visual art on a university campus can be stimulating or baffling or boring, or combinations of all three at different times," said Stuart Horodner, director of UK Art Museum. "You never know what will catch your attention and make you think and feel. Permanent or temporary, large or small, historical or contemporary, made by a student or an acclaimed artist — we should aspire to a robust set of public art offerings that are extensions of the classroom, with all the rigor and thoughtfulness we expect of a higher educational context."
"Art in Public Places" will be moderated by Horodner, and will include the following panelists:
· Jim Clark, executive director of Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate;
· Melynda Price, director of the UK African American and Africana Studies Program and the Robert E. Harding Jr. Professor of Law;
· Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Alumni Endowed Professor of Art at the UK School of Art and Visual Studies; and
· Richard Schein, professor and chair of the UK Department of Geography.
Benjamin C. Withers, associate provost for Undergraduate Education and dean for Undergraduate Studies, hopes the event will get the campus talking about public art and its benefits to a university. "Through the campus forum we wish to facilitate a dialogue in the UK community about how a more sustained, intentional and strategic approach to art in public places improves the educational environment. A sustained and robust public art program engages with our institutional past and helps form the way we see ourselves in the future; it should represent the diversity of perspectives and viewpoints and promote conversations."
Andrew Hippisley, director of the UK Linguistics Program and chair of University Senate Council, agrees that art on a university campus should also serve an educational purpose. "If the framing of public art is a university, public art moves beyond merely decorative to pedagogical. The forum will engage faculty, amongst others, in considering a more deliberative and intentional approach to public art that both aligns with UK's mission of teaching and learning, and is informed by UK's primary educators, the faculty."
In addition, a social media contest is being presented in conjunction with the campus forum. Take the challenge — post a photo of art where you find it on the UK campus. How much public art can you find on the UK campus? What pieces do you love? What art works make you think? Share your campus public art finds with a photo post to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtags #seeblue and #UKYPublicArt, and five randomly drawn, lucky art lovers will receive prizes. Be sure to include where you found the art and tag @UKUGEd to be eligible for the prize giveaway. Entries will be taken until 6:30 p.m. March 21, for the first drawing.
The campus forum "Art in Public Places" is sponsored by the UK Art Museum, the University Senate Council and the UK Division of Undergraduate Education.
UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu