Author: Lillian Gardiner, GeD’11
Last night, over 60 alumni, friends and family gathered at the Gallery on Market Street to listen to a panel on “Art and the City.” Guests mingled in the Mural Arts Program’s space on the third level of the Gallery where the artists sometimes work.
After Vice President and Secretary of Penn, Leslie Laird Kruhly welcomed everyone, panelists Esperanza Altamar, GFA’00, Jane Golden, and Ernel Martinez, GFA’04 were led by Penn faculty moderator Mark J. Stern, PhD, in a discussion about the impact of the arts. A few of the questions covered included: How important is art to any major American urban center? What impact does its presence – or its absence – have on our children? How can Penn alumni with an interest in art make a difference in Philadelphia?
Participants (from left to right): Penn Faculty Moderator: Mark J. Stern, PhD,Principal Investigator, Social Impact of the Arts Project; Co-Director, Urban Studies Program; Kenneth L. M. Pray Chair Professor of Social Policy; Esperanza Altamar, GFA’00, Director of Youth Programs, Norris Square Neighborhood Project; Former Manager of Community Programs, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Jane Golden, Executive Director, Philadelphia Mural Arts Project; Lecturer, Fine Arts and Urban Studies at Penn; and Ernel Martinez, GFA’04, Artist, Designer, Muralist and Mural Arts Instructor for the Amber Art & Design, and Philadelphia Mural Arts Project
As many of you may already know, in October 2010, Penn Alumni hosted the first-ever Penn Spectrum conference on diversity and community. The “Penn Spectrum on the Road” events are designed to continue the discussions from the conference and carry the ideas to the greater alumni body.
This is also your opportunity to save the date for the fall Penn Spectrum conference to be held in Philadelphia from September 20 to the 22, 2013. Learn more about that upcoming conference and see what other “Penn Spectrum on the Road” events took place on our website.
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