Showcasing Lehigh's creative side

	Daniel Adam Shipman Halle leads the Lehigh a capella group, A Whole Step Up, in a recent performance in Zoellner's Black Box Theatre.

An event designed to showcase the creativity of the campus community will make the arts come alive at Lehigh on Sunday, April 22nd.

This weekend will clearly articulate tangible evidence of arts, creativity and the diverse culture at Lehigh, according to organizer, Silagh White, administrative director of ArtsLehigh, which she describes as a university-wide program that links arts, learning and life.

This day celebrates some of the best reasons why we are all here. Current students and recent alumni will showcase their talent and work, and we'll celebrate the energy and excitement of the creative and performing arts that are so much a part of Lehigh life.

The first-time event, called ArtsSpree, is inspired by the 10th anniversary of Lehigh's Zoellner Arts Center. This day also celebrates the 20th Annual International Bazaar, the 10th anniversary celebration of the Global Union, and complements a flurry of mid-April celebrations that include the inaugural events the weekend before.

ArtsSpree events will include a juried art show, music and theatre performances in four simultaneous locations inside Zoellner, tours of outdoor sculptures, media art installations, digital media projects, open studios, and tours of the facilities where much of the creative work happens.

“There will be so much to see,” White says, “that visitors will leave the campus at the end of the day with a totally new perspective of the Lehigh experience. People will see how creativity and the arts are woven in the fabric of daily life here at Lehigh, which has already distinguished itself as a university with strengths in so many other arenas.”

The ArtsLehigh program is dedicated to helping members of the Lehigh community discover and nurture the artist within, White says.

“We don't want people to think of the arts as only something you watch or listen to, says White. Lehigh University has outstanding academic programs in the arts, and a world-class performance center at Zoellner, with an incredible Guest Artist series. But we also want to showcase the opportunities that all Lehigh students have to participate in the arts.

White notes that ArtSpree will also feature performances and works from non-arts majors, because “Lehigh has students who actively participate in the arts, simply for the love of it.”

ArtsLehigh officially debuted with the Fall '05 semester, and has been instrumental in a series of events and activities that spanned traditional boundaries to engage the entire campus community.

--Linda Harbrecht