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Exhibition Opens with Steven J. Tepper Lecture on Creativity

 January 23, 2012

"Creative Work and the Work of Creativity: How Colleges and Universities Can Prepare Graduates to Reinvent Our World"

Can creativity be taught? Colleges across the country – and around the world – acknowledge that to give students an edge as they prepare to become productive citizens of the 21st century, ways must be found to teach them creativity.

On February 3, 2012, Steven J. Tepper, Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, will offer the feature lecture at the opening of Mount Holyoke College Art Museum’s special exhibition, Artists and the Noble Profession: the 2012 Mount Holyoke College Studio Art Faculty Exhibition. The lecture will take place in Gamble Auditorium at 4:30 p.m. with a reception to follow the talk.

Recent research suggests that creativity isn't simply a product of personality or individual psychology, but rather is rooted in a set of teachable competencies. These skills not only lie at the heart of artistic practice, but also lead to innovation in engineering and technology, and science and medicine, separating leaders from followers.

Steven Tepper is a leading writer and speaker on U.S. cultural policy; his work has fostered national discussion on topics of cultural engagement, everyday creativity, and the transformative possibilities of a 21st- century creative campus. His research and teaching focuses on creativity in education and work, conflict over art and culture, and cultural participation. He is author of Not Here, Not Now, Not That! Protest Over Art and Media in America (University of Chicago, 2011) and co-editor and contributing author of the book Engaging Art: The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life (Routledge 2007). Professor Tepper holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and a Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University.

The lecture is presented in conjunction with the special exhibition, Artists and the Noble Profession: The 2012 Mount Holyoke College Studio Art Faculty Exhibition, presents the work of nine artists whose work spans a wide spectrum of media and approaches, including photography, painting, collage, assemblage, drawing, and installation. The exhibition salutes their creativity as artists and as teachers. It runs from February 3–May 27, 2012 at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum.

Admission to this and all exhibitions is free; donations are welcome. The Museum is open Tuesday–Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday, 1–5 p.m.

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in South Hadley is a leading collegiate art museum. Its comprehensive permanent collection of 17,000 objects features Asian art, 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings and sculpture, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, Medieval sculpture, early Italian Renaissance paintings, and an extensive collection of works on paper.