Cornish College of the Arts Presents OUR CREATIVE SOCIETY, 10/5 & 6

Today, October 5 and 6, 2012, Cornish College of the Arts will present Our Creative Society, the first of an annual program centered on a theme that reflects the cultural currents and discourse taking place at the College and in the community. The event will be anchored in Cornish's mission and revolves around conversations and topics that relate to the development and cultivation of our students as artists, innovators and citizens.

The 2012 theme, Beyond Art. Creative Thinking in Contemporary Culture, broadens the collective conception of how creativity and artistry are practices that can be interpreted for all realms of life. Cornish will present activities and discussions that illuminate the integral role that creative thinking brings to healthy and progressive communities. Information is available at www.cornish.edu/creativesociety.

The first day, today, October 5, includes a free lecture/demonstration with Camille A. Brown & Dancers at the historic Kerry Hall and a Happy Hour Open House at Cornish's Main Campus Center in the Denny Triangle. A fabulous Art Party, Smoosh, caps the day in the Visual Arts Complex, with food and drink and art and music by Cornish alums, including the band Pollens. (21+, tickets: $20-$25.)

Saturday, October 6 is the Day of Ideas, free moderated sessions exploring creative topics and Cornish experiences at the Main Campus Center. The day starts with a keynote conversation between David Shields (Reality Hunger: A Manifesto) and Brangien Davis, Arts & Culture Editor of Seattle Magazine.

Other participants include Ryan Adams, Cinematographer; Leah Baltus, Editor in Chief, CityArts Magazine; Sarah Bergmann (AR '99), Artist and Creator of Pollinator Pathway; Carrie Bodle, Artist & Lecturer; Paula Boggs, Fortune 500 Veteran, Musician and Humanitarian; Robert Campbell, Artist, Filmmaker and Cornish Art Department Faculty; Robin Held, Executive Director, ReelGrrls; Eirik Johnson, Artist, Cornish Adjunct Faculty, Art Department, 2012 Neddy at Cornish Recipient in Open Medium; Oscar Murrillo, User Experience Architect, Kinect for Windows– Microsoft; Gifford Pinchot III, Co-Founder, Bainbridge Graduate Institute; Peter Rojcewicz, PhD, VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Antioch University; Jentery Sayers, PhD, Assistant Professor of English, University of Victoria; Axel Roesler, PhD, Assistant Professor Interaction Design, University of Washington; Angela Rose Sink (TH '13), Cornish Student; Maya Soto (DA '03), Dancer, Choreographer and Teacher; Tim Smith-Stewart (TH '10), Co-Director, Orion Out Loud and On-Call Counselor at Youthcare; and Christine Sumption, Cornish Adjunct Faculty, Humanities & Sciences.

OUR CREATIVE SOCIETY: BEYOND ART. CREATIVE THINKING IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Camille A. Brown Lecture/Demonstration

October 5, noon-1 pm

PONCHO Concert Hall, Kerry Hall, 710 E. Roy St.

Free and open to the public, no reservations needed

An informative lecture-demonstration exploring the creative process of New York choreographer Camille A. Brown, presented by her company member Juel Lane and featuring performances by Cornish Dance Theater, the performing ensemble of the Cornish College of the Arts Dance Department. This is also an ArtsCrush Featured Event.

Happy Hour Open House

October 5, 5:30 – 7 pm

Main Campus Center, 1000 Lenora St., 1st Floor

Free and open to the public, no reservations needed.

Enjoy drinks and small bites during a tour of the Cornish Main Campus Center.

Smoosh

October 5, 7 – 10 pm

New Visual Arts Complex, 1000 Virginia St.

$25 general public, $20 Cornish students and alumni; 21+

A fun and inspired opening night party featuring original multi-disciplinary performance installation by Kate Wallich (DA '10) and friends. Plus a live set by Pollens, the up-and-coming band comprised of Music Department alumni. Also includes DJ, catered food truck and complimentary cocktails. Tickets available at www.cornish.edu/smoosh.

Day of Ideas

October 6, 9 am – 4 pm

Main Campus Center, 1000 Lenora St.

Free and open to the public, no reservation needed.

This is also an ArtsCrush Featured Event.

Schedule

9 am: The day starts with complimentary coffee and pastries.

9:30 am: Keynote Conversation with David Shields

David Shields is a prolific author and New York Times bestselling essayist. He discusses his recent book, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto with Brangien Davis, Arts & Culture Editor, Seattle Magazine.

11am – choose from three topics

Session A

The Art of Science

Gifford Pinchot III, Co-Founder, Bainbridge Graduate Institute; Carrie Bodle, Artist & Lecturer, Additional Participants TBD

The "arts and sciences" are inextricably linked by a shared sense of purpose in exploring beyond current states of being, finding solutions to human problems and generally acting as the provocateurs of humanity. How do scientists perceive the benefits of creativity in their research? How do artists help us convey and interpret scientific phenomena?

Session B

New Frontiers in Artistic Expression

Sponsored by The Neddy at Cornish

Leah Baltus, Editor in Chief, CityArts Magazine; Ryan Adams, Cinematographer; Eirik Johnson, Artist, Cornish Adjunct Faculty, Art Department, 2012 Neddy at Cornish Recipient in Open Medium; David Shields, Author, Angela Rose Sink (TH '13), Cornish Student

Cross-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary, genre-bending – where are current artistic movements taking us? We'll explore how content and form are merging to create new forms of expression and how culture is informed by and/or informing this process.

Session C

Experience Cornish

Seattle Premiere of Pulchrior in Luce

Directed by Robert Campbell, Artist, Filmmaker & Core Faculty, Art Department

Followed by Q&A with director, moderated by Christine Sumption, Cornish Adjunct Faculty, Humanities & Sciences

This feature-length experimental work occupies multiple genres. This lush and technically brilliant film was initially inspired by 15th and 16th-century paintings and was filmed in Italy and other locales in Western Europe. 87 minutes.

12:15 pm: Lunch & Lunchtime Discussion: Arts Literacy in the 21st Century

Peter Rojcewicz, PhD, VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Antioch University

Includes complimentary lunch.

1:30 pm – choose from three topics

Session A

Where Art, Human Expression and Technology Converge

Jentery Sayers, PhD, Assistant Professor of English, University of Victoria; Oscar Murrillo, User Experience Architect, Kinect for Windows– Microsoft; Axel Roesler, PhD, Assistant Professor Interaction Design, University of Washington

Technology is increasingly the primary driver of human interaction and expression. As we look to the future, in what sorts of ways will we be interacting with technology? How does artistic practice and expression influence this? OR, how is artistic practice and expression influenced by this?

Session B

Creative Solutions in Civic Life

Paula Boggs, Fortune 500 Veteran, Musician and Humanitarian; Sarah Bergmann (AR '99), Artist and Creator of Pollinator Pathway; Tim Smith-Stewart (TH '10), Co-Director, Orion Out Loud and On-Call Counselor at Youthcare; Maya Soto (DA '03), Dancer, choreographer and Teacher,

As we look to address social and economic challenges, how does artistic practice uniquely answer some of these challenges and how does creative thinking bring out new ways of addressing issues? How fundamental is creativity and artistic practice to social progress?

Session C

Experience Cornish

Student project TBD

3 pm: Closing Plenary – Thoughts on the Creative Life

Robin Held, Executive Director, ReelGrrls

3:30 pm: Closing reception, student performance

David Shields, the author of fourteen books, including How Literature Saved My Life (Knopf, 2013), Jeff, One Lonely Guy (Amazon, 2012), and Reality Hunger: A Manifesto (Vintage, 2011)-a book that challenges our most basic assumptions about originality, authenticity, and creativity. GQ called Reality Hunger "the most provocative, brain-rewiring book of 2010; it's a book that feels at least five years ahead of its time." Reality Hunger promises to become the touchstone that artists in all media turn to for inspiration, vindication, and altercation as they struggle to create new forms for the new century. The New York Times says Reality Hunger "urgently and succinctly addresses matters that have been in the air, have relentlessly gathered momentum, and have just been waiting for someone to link them together"; it "heralds what will be the dominant modes in years and decades to come." Chuck Klosterman said it "might be the most intense, thought-accelerating book of the last ten years."

A pioneer in arts education, Cornish College of the Arts sprang from the remarkable vision of Nellie Cornish, a woman determined to cultivate the arts in Seattle when it was scarcely more than a frontier town. Her philosophy of educating the artist through exposure to all the arts was progressive at the time, and continues to be innovative today. The College offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Art, Dance, Design, Performance Production and Theater, and a Bachelor of Music degree. The College is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

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