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Postponed until further notice

Making the Most of the Local

Architectural historian Samuel Dodd and artist Angela Sprunger of the Ohio Valley Center for Collaborative Arts will offer stories from their work in Athens, Ohio, on Saturday, March 21, 2020, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the American Philatelic Center’s headquarters at the Match Factory in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Dodd and Sprunger’s presentation, “Making the Most of the Local,” will be followed by responses from a panel of area residents, and an open discussion of ways in which the experience of another small Appalachian town with a major university in its midst (Athens, Ohio) can speak to our experience in Centre County. The panel will include organic farmer Bruce Cramer; Sue Hannegan, architectural historian and Senior Advisor to Centre County Government/Planning and Community Development; digital media specialist Ellen Matis; local business operator Nancy Noll; and architect Glenn Vernon.

Samuel Dodd, director of Ohio Valley Center for Collaborative Arts, is committed to the study and practice of community development through socially engaged art and creative placemaking. He teaches courses in the history of modern and contemporary architecture and design at Ohio University and received his PhD in architectural history and theory from the University of Texas at Austin, where he also worked at the Center for Sustainable Development.

Sprunger, assistant director of the Ohio Valley Center for Collaborative Arts, teaches Foundations in the School of Art and Design. She holds an MFA in Printmaking and a Graduate Certificate of Gerontology from Ohio University, and a BA in Studio Art and English from Saint Olaf College. Dodd and Sprunger have initiated community projects on topics ranging from the opioid epidemic to repurposing historic buildings.

Community members are invited to attend the presentation and engage in a conversation that will imagine ways to activate the arts and collaborative development work in the Bellefonte Intervalley Area and Centre Region. Following the presentation and conversation, a light reception will be served.

Free and open to the public, this event is sponsored by the Humanities Institute of the College of Liberal Arts at Penn State in collaboration with Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation; Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association; Historic Bellefonte, Inc.; Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce; Centre County Historical Society; Downtown Bellefonte, Inc.; and The Old House Fair on the Road.

For additional information, please contact Julia Spicher Kasdorf, .

Making the Most of the Local: What does it mean for a community to know and grow out of the genius of its place? Beyond its latitude and longitude, is there anything unique about Centre County? If so, how can we use it to nurture our communities? How can we employ our regional identity to improve our lives and the lives of those around us? Samuel Dodd (architectural history) and Angela Sprunger (art and community) from Athens, Ohio, will discuss creative placemaking and employ storytelling to offer concrete examples of development of local commerce, local decision making, and relationship with a local academic institution. Participants will learn from the experience of another small, Appalachian town, and consider ways that embracing our geographic and cultural identity can benefit almost every facet of our lives. Following the presentation, a panel of local community leaders will respond and help to facilitate further conversation. March 21, 2020 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 pm at the American Philatelic Society 100 Match Factory Place Bellefonte, PA 16823. A reception with light refreshments will follow the program. Free and open to the public.