This Thursday, March 28, the Performing Arts Council (PAC) in collaboration with VALLEY Magazine will be holding “Arts in the VALLEY” at 7:30 p.m. in the Schwab Auditorium. This hour-long showcase will represent an array of student run performing arts groups on campus, ranging from the Penn State ROAR Brass Ensemble to DERBY: A Women’s Comedy Troupe. Maintaining the tradition of PAC’s annual Spring Showcase, “Arts in the VALLEY” has rebranded the annual event into a statement of arts advocacy, promoting the creative arts through student-run media channels.
VALLEY spoke with Marissa Works, a senior Musical Education and Public Relations major, who currently stands as the president of PAC.
PAC aims to support and represent all student run performance groups,” she explains. “Our goal is to integrate the arts into the every day life of a Penn State student.
This event will provide a diverse and digestible sampling of all that performing arts community has to offer. The showcase will also include performances from The Coda Conduct, the K-Pop Music and Dance Club, PSUkulele, Shades of Blue and Penn State Fanaa.
Founded in 2014 under the mission statement “gathering the arts to share the arts,” Works informs us that PAC has evolved and expanded in their focus to make the arts in-reach for students. This year the organization set out with an evolved sense of purpose, “a three word declaration to guide PAC in the coming year,” says Works, “promote, unite and collaborate.”
Photo posted by PSU Performing Arts Council on Facebook
Internally, PAC will be financially support creativity through the Arts Impact Grant — a one thousand dollar prize to one student organization in hopes that the money will fund an impactful art project in the Penn State community. But Works informs us that the challenges for PAC lie more in outreach.
The problem is that there are is not as much student support for the arts as much as there is by the administration,” she states. “Awareness is lacking. If you aren’t in the arts community or have friends who are involved, you generally are not aware of what’s happening.
To solve this issue, Works began the Art App Initiative. Thanks to her efforts, students can download the PACalendar app, a free app that is a condensed calendar of all art events occurring on campus. Works believes that, “engaging in the arts allows us to understand people different from ourselves,” and therefore, it is pivotal for students to consume artistic concepts. In the upcoming showcase, audience members are given the opportunity to see an artistic representation of the student body across all cultures, majors and art forms.
Download the app for updates from the performing arts community and be sure to come to attend “Arts in the VALLEY” this Thursday!
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