City proclamation recognizes Year of the Arts

With activities well underway during the Year of the Arts, three University of Wisconsin–Madison administrators stepped off campus for a special recognition.

At the Tuesday, Nov. 9 meeting of the Madison Common Council, Celia Klehr, chair of the Madison Arts Commission, and Karin Wolf, arts program administrator for the Arts Commission, presented the university with a proclamation endorsing September 2010 through August 2011 as the Year of the Arts and encouraging all city residents to participate.

Provost Paul M. DeLuca, Jr. accepted the proclamation plaque on behalf of Chancellor Biddy Martin. Year of the Arts co-chairs Norma Saldivar, professor of theatre and executive director of the Arts Institute, and Andrew Taylor, director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, joined DeLuca at the ceremony.

Programming through the Year of the Arts is not simply intended to emphasize on-campus activities. The proclamation recognized that “a primary goal for the Year of the Arts is to celebrate the many connections between the arts at UW–Madison and the artistic life of the greater Madison community.” During one major visit earlier this fall, alumnus Rocco Landesman, now chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, met with Mayor David Cieslewicz and other city staff to discuss enhancements for the city’s proposed Central Park and other ways in which the arts promote city building.

The proclamation also recognized how the Arts Institute “is working to find unique ways to partner with the City to maximize resources that enhance our creative culture, such as providing additional funding for the Blink temporary public art program.”

The Year of the Arts celebrates the breadth, depth, power, and purpose of artistic exploration and expression at UW–Madison with more than 300 events, including special performances, exhibits, symposia, public programs, distinguished visiting speakers and visits by prominent alumni in the arts.