Academy Evenings

press release:

How does a state and a nation foster creativity?  Thomas Pleger, president of Lake Superior State University and former campus executive officer and dean of UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, believes that our future lies in strengthening the liberal education base of our public universities and colleges. Join us as Pleger explores how the Wisconsin Idea is rooted in a progressive understanding of the need for a widely educated citizenry that is based in lifelong liberal education. What is the relationship between education and the development of a robust creative culture? Pleger will argue that a creative culture and economy cannot be achieved by over-focusing on training, workforce development, and trying to predict where future jobs will be. Rather, a creative culture and economy are the direct result of the intentional intersection of the sciences, arts, and humanities.

This is the second talk from the Academy-led Wisconsin Creativity Initiative. Developed by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters in partnership with the Wisconsin Arts Board, Arts Wisconsin, and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Wisconsin Creativity Initiative seeks to examine the elements of a creative economy that make the most sense for Wisconsin, and the ways we can harness these elements to make our communities and our state stronger. Our aim for the Wisconsin Creativity Initiative is to change the conversation about the power of creativity to improve Wisconsin’s economy, educational systems, and quality of life.

Please also join us from 6-7:00 pm in our James Watrous Gallery, across the hall from Wisconsin Studio, for light refreshments, a chance to mingle with Academy members, and an opportunity to view our newest exhibition Beading Culture. Featuring Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) raised beadwork, this exhibition was created in partnership with the Oneida Nation Arts Program and tells a complex, layered story of cultural resilience and the role of art in defining community.