October 11, 2024
Dear B. Braun,
What role do the arts and the performing arts centers play in our society today? Are they solely here to entertain and provide an escape from daily life, or do they contribute significantly to the economic engine of local economies, stimulate creative learning for our youth, and help improve the health of our communities?
Zoellner Arts Center, as a university presenter, has a storied history of bringing high-quality, world-class multidisciplinary art forms to the greater Lehigh Valley. We celebrate the excellence of traditional art forms and connect art visionaries to the community including renowned performers such as the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yo Yo Ma, Sphinx Virtuosi, Leslie Odoms Jr., Cirque Eloize, and more.
We take pride in being the premier performing arts organization in the Lehigh Valley, bringing together K-12 school-age children for transformative arts experiences and integrated curricular learning. We are the lead partner for the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child program. Last year we engaged with over 8,000 students from 15 different school districts. We are a trusted resource for arts professional development for area school teachers.
In response to the pressing need for social healing and community rebuilding, Zoellner is uniquely positioned to lead. We recognize the power of the arts to stimulate creativity, contribute to economic vitality, and catalyze social well-being. Our dedication to community engagement extends beyond traditional boundaries, having forged meaningful partnerships with local and regional organizations to create inclusive spaces for dialogue, empowerment, and creativity.
We are committed to being an early adopter of a new vision of arts in our community by facilitating meaningful dialogue across our urban, suburban, and rural communities. Through initiatives like “Traveling While Black,” a cinematic virtual reality experience addressing historical and contemporary restrictions on movement for Black Americans, we collaborated with organizations across the Lehigh Valley to engage new audiences and spark discussions about race and intersectionality. The success of this initiative demonstrated Zoellner’s unwavering committment to addressing societal challenges through art, igniting a dialogue that trascended our walls and reverberated throughout our community.
By leveraging our position as a university presenter, Zoellner Arts Center is committed to challenging inequalities, inspiring new perspectives, and bringing diverse groups together through transformative experiences with the arts. Through a holistic approach that combines education, research, and the intrinsic value of the arts, we can foster meaningful dialogue and drive positive change.
The pandemic prompted arts organizations to reconsider their role in society. We believe this is an opportunity to reimagine the relationship the arts have within our communities. Your financial support is instrumental in enabling us to realize our vision of bringing together urban, suburban, and rural communities. With your help, we will expand and extend our programs designed to heal the divisions exacerbated by the pandemic and reignite the connections that bind us together.
We invite B. Braun to partner with us in advancing our work that preserves and celebrates community through cultural activities and practices. Your support will help us address social discourse and repair the social fabric of our community. Together, through our dedication to fostering meaningful partnerships and leveraging the transformative power of art as a driver for positive change, we can create a more inclusive and just Lehigh Valley for all.
At Zoellner Arts Center, we believe the arts are critical to addressing the tough conversations and problems we face today. Your funding will help us deliver programs that repair the frayed connections within our community.
Thank you for considering Zoellner’s proposal to support our Community Conversations and Ancestral Communal Listening Projects.
Sincerely,
Mark F. Wilson Executive Director Zoellner Arts Center | Lehigh University
About Zoellner
Mission
Our mission is to infuse the arts into the life of Lehigh University and the greater Lehigh Valley community by presenting high-quality multi-disciplinary programs, fostering life-long patronage of the arts, and integrating our educational resources to enhance our human experience.
Background
Over 25 years ago, Lehigh University envisioned designing a vibrant arts environment where students, artists, faculty, and the community could create and learn. It wanted to educate, captivate, and inspire performers and patrons by presenting a variety of outstanding performing arts events, exhibits, and educational programs, and to develop new works. In 1997, this vision manifested in Zoellner Arts Center—home to the Lehigh University Music Department, the Department of Theatre, the Art Galleries, and the Guest Artist Series—a place for creativity and innovation; for exploring all corners of artistic disciplines; and for opening up minds to new ideas and new ways of seeing the world.
In a recent year, the center held 240 events, including over 350 artists from 10 countries, and more than 50 campus and community events, lectures, business meetings, convocations, recitals, concerts, conventions, and more. In total, the center provided arts engagement and communal space to over 55,000 people in attendance from 12 states and over 8,000 local school children. Additionally, we created partnerships with 35 community organizations in the arts, sciences, health, and literacy.
We are committed to enhancing the role of arts education in the Lehigh Valley, through children’s, family, and school programming, partnering with local organizations, as well as connecting our artists, staff, and faculty with students of all ages. As we step forward, Zoellner Arts Center will continue building organizational partnerships like those achieved as the lead organization for the Kennedy Center’s Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child program in Bethlehem. We will further expand into the community by focusing on K-12 education to deliver arts enrichment programs, cultural programs, social-emotional learning programming, and artist-in-residencies specifically tied to the school curriculum.
Zoellner Arts Center strives to go beyond our four walls and challenge people to think while encouraging them to see the world through a different lens to connect and understand our community. We seek to be a leader in the arts and culture scene in the Lehigh Valley by being bold, forward-thinking, and innovative, and by bringing our diverse community together through shared experiences. And we are dedicated to presenting arts for all through being inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible.
Challenge
In our pursuit of a just and equitable society, effective communication is paramount. However, bridging the gaps between diverse perspectives remains a significant obstacle. The arts present a unique on-ramp for individuals with differing viewpoints to engage, interact, and deepen connections. We envision the arts as a catalyst for uniting our rural, suburban, and urban communities, providing a common ground for dialogue and understanding.
Scope of Work
Ancestral Communal Listening Description
In the spirit of honoring and celebrating the vision of Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Mwenso will lead one of his highly acclaimed Ancestral Communal Listening Sessions. In this joyful and immersive gathering, Michael will create a sense of community and connection by playing recordings of musical forebears who propelled the civil rights movement and prompting participants to voluntarily share what they feel and hear in the messages. For this special event, produced by Electric Root, we invite all to come together and recenter through the collective healing, love, and nutritional uplift that’s embedded in Black roots music.
We will have six Ancestral Communal listening activities on Wednesday, February 12th, and Thursday, February 13th, 2025.
Community Conversations Description
The beauty of the Lehigh Valley is its connection to the urban, suburban, and rural communities. The Community Conversations will bring together people from throughout the region to engage in conversations about how we can come together for a healthier community. These conversations will be guided by trained consultants from Intersekt Alliance using different communication techniques and arts-based activities to simulate conversations. Intersekt Alliance is a multi-cultural group of individuals with a depth and breadth of experience in things like conflict resolution, team building, managing change, and dealing productively with systemic problems.
We will have several Community Conversations activities throughout the season connected to certain Presenting Series events. Participants will be from different demographic, economic, and geographic backgrounds. They will also have the opportunity to stay and see a live performance in Baker Hall. Final dates will be mutually agreed upon with B. Braun and our consultants’ availability.
Objectives
• Demonstrate to the community that the organization is listening to the community and understands their needs.
• Community members will feel seen and heard.
• Engage the community in decision-making.
• Demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.
• Build rapport with the community.
Zoellner and Intersekt Alliance will share feedback gathered from these conversations with B. Braun in a year-end debrief.
Opportunities for Recognition and Impact
Corporate Benefits at the $20,000 Level: Ancestral Communal Listening/Community Conversations
• Bravo recognition in the playbill for 2024/2025 Season
• Twelve (12) complimentary tickets to 4 Presenting Series events - Yamato, The Sound of (Black) Music, and two (2) Presenting Series events of your choice
• Two (2) additional complimentary tickets to each Community Conversation show
• Private Ancestral Communal Listening experience for employees
• Visibility in marketing collateral for The Sound of (Black) Music with hyperlink on event webpage
• Full-page acknowledgment in 2024/2025 Season playbill; premium spot
• On-stage introduction of The Sound of (Black) Music and sponsored events
• Invitation to speak at Community Conversation events
• Complimentary use of a Zoellner space for a private corporate event
Corporate Benefits at the $10,000 Level: Ancestral Communal Listening
• Marquee recognition in the playbill for 2024/2025 Season
• Eight (8) complimentary tickets to 2 Presenting Series events
• Two (2) additional complimentary tickets to The Sound of (Black) Music
• Private Ancestral Communal Listening experience for employees
• Visibility in marketing collateral for The Sound of (Black) Music with hyperlink on event webpage
• Full-page acknowledgment in 2024/2025 Season playbill; premium spot
• On-stage introduction at The Sound of (Black) Music and sponsored events
• Complimentary use of a Zoellner space for a private corporate event
Contact: MARK FITZGERALD WILSON
Executive Director Zoellner Arts Center
610-758-5301 • mawa20@lehigh.edu
CANDI STAURINOS
Director of Community Engagement & Impact
610-758-3414 • zcs2@lehigh.edu
420 E. Packer Ave. | Bethlehem, PA 18015
