Athenaeum Project & Salon Talks, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7:30pm

OK, Everybody--this is REALLY exciting!

Mark your calendars for:

Salon Talks
Tuesday, Oct. 28th, 7:30pm
Sette Luna Restaurant on Ferry St. & Sitgreaves
20$/person includes: 1 entre pizza, 1 salad/1 dessert/and 1 ice tea!

There is a project that has been in the works for a couple of years now, that is gaining traction and will eventually be a terrific resource for some of the programming for kids and adults that we have been talking about needing to revitalize the West Ward. It's so exciting that all these new projects and efforts are coalescing at the same time as we move into the future of our neighborhood, our city and the Lehigh Valley. The train is one. The Canton Project is another--and the Governor Wolf Athenaeum Project is the third leg of this trifecta for positive and permanent change in the community.

What is an athenaeum? And what will the project do for us as a community? To explain at length, I have pasted at the end of this post, a press release from March that led to an article in the Express Times. But in short, it will be a new museum and cultural education center, and it already has a letter of intent from the Philadephia Museum of Art, who will be loaning the Athenaeum fine art from its permanent collection if the center is built to museum specifications. The County has also been supportive of the idea, but the other major source of support that the Athenaeum group has been waiting for has been the support of Lafayette College--and now, we have it!

The college has agreed to do a culteral & economic study to assess the potential impact of the athenaeum on the Lehigh Valley community, and to apply for a grant to run a student internship to work with the Athenaeum group to do a study as well. This intership will be headed by a Jamaican professor of Economics at Lafayette, Fluney Hutchinson, who is doing a similar study for the City of New Orleans.

These studies are the first major steps in getting a project like this off the ground, while at the same time, programming through the Governor Wolf Athenaeum Group is already starting.

There will be a series of "Salon Talks" hosted by the Governor Wolf Athenaeum Group, that will not only introduce the community to the project, but also address themes of interest to the community and encourage interaction and feedback from the public. Below I have pasted an invitation to the first Salon Talk of the series, followed by the press release that explains the aim of the Athenaeum Project:

"The Governor Wolf Athenaeum Committee would like to invite you to a series of Salon Talks on various topics of community interest starting with “Here I Stand: First Time Voters and the Election” at the Sette Luna Restaurant in Easton Pa on Tuesday the 28th of October at 7:30PM.

Please RSVP to Peter Schmidt at 908-454-2456
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This forum will feature four students and first-time voters--2 for McCain, and 2 for Obama, who will be sharing their perspectives on why they are voting as they are, and opening the forum for public discussion. This is a great opportunity for open and balanced discussion on the issues, just in time for the election : )

I hope to see you all there--don't forget to RSVP as space is limited!
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Below is the press release from March that I mentioned:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Philadelphia Museum of Art on Board as Group Proposes New Vision
for Governor Wolf Building

Community-based group seeks to preserve Governor Wolf Building as athenaeum.

March 12, 2008

EASTON, PA: A group of citizens is interested in acquiring Easton’s historic Governor Wolf Building from Northampton County, should the County relocate its headquarters, for the purposes of developing an athenaeum, which they are confident will bring an influx of commerce and culture to the Lehigh Valley.

The Governor Wolf Athenaeum Group aims to preserve the building and restore it to its original purpose as a center for education in the community as intended when The Governor Wolf School was constructed in 1893 after the governor founded the Pennsylvania Free Public School System and worked as a proponent of the 1834 School Act.

An athenaeum is an institution for literary, scientific and artistic study, based on a classical Greek model. The group expands this definition in its modern context to include programs in architecture, environmental and political science, historical preservation and economic development, and would give residents of the Lehigh Valley a variety of options in continuing education.

The group has been granted 501-C3 status and has secured a letter of intent from the Philadelphia Art Museum regarding a loan of exhibits from the museum’s permanent collection if the athenaeum were built to museum specifications.

“The athenaeum proposal is an exciting prospect for Easton,” State Representative Bob Freeman said of the project in an interview last week. “An opportunity to tap into cultural resources, to enhance quality of life in the community and to serve as an economic engine for downtown revitalization. That the Philadelphia Art Museum has shown interest strengthens prospects for the proposal.”

Founded in 2006, the community-based effort is spearheaded by Easton’s renowned visual artist, Charles Klabunde, who serves as President. Other board members include Maurice Luker III, Director of Foundation & Corporate Relations at Lafayette College; Lani Ache, Sr. VP of Quality at Foster Wheeler; David Howell, Chairman, Forks Township Board of Supervisors; Peter Schmidt, Upper School Director at Gill St. Bernard’s in Gladstone, NJ; Lucienne DiBiase Dooley, Architect & Urban Planner for James R. Guerra; Jeff Martinson, Architect for The Martinson Group and Dr. Bonnie Winfield, Director of the Landis Community Outreach Center at Lafayette College.

“The athenaeum will redefine Easton. It will give Easton a sense of destination for activities in the surrounding communities of a 50 miles radius, creating a commercial center where people can feel safe, enjoy the activities and by way of size, convenient location and proximity of our two rivers, bring about a renaissance,” Klabunde said at the group’s meeting Wednesday night.

In July of 2007, The Lehigh Valley Arts Council (LVAC) announced that its study, entitled Arts & Economic Prosperity III, revealed that the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the Lehigh Valley generates $169.1 million in economic activity, including 6,216 jobs generated annually, $6.8 million in local tax revenues and $11.1 million in state tax revenues. The study shows an average of $26.56 per person in collateral spending per event outside of ticket cost--revenue the group hopes to spread to local businesses.

Lani Ache, who heads up the group’s business plan, sees other benefits to the project. “This is net zero to the community. Last year’s LVAC study indicates that at an average of $26.56 per person in collateral spending, the athenaeum, with only 2,000 visitors per month will draw the same amount as operating costs, thereby giving back to the community the same monies that are donated.”

The project is estimated at $8 million, with annual operating costs of $696,600 per year, to be obtained via global and national grants, contributions, and cooperative programming with local businesses, involving no costs to county and city governments.