Creative Workshop Set For March 21
Lackawanna County, NEPA Creative, and Penn State Scranton Campus are hosting a series of free NEPA Creative meetups at the Penn State Scranton Campus, 120 Ridgeview Drive, Dunmore, starting Tuesday, March 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Sherbine Lounge in the Study Learning Center.
The program, offered in Luzerne County for several years, is beginning its inaugural season in our community.
NEPA Creative, the community arm of Coal Creative, is committed to supporting local creatives, fostering creativity, and connecting opportunities. In addition to hosting the monthly meetups, they showcase a Sunday Spotlight on local creatives and host a local directory for creatives to connect. The goal of NEPA Creative Meetups is to offer a space where people can network and learn from their peers about a variety of topics related to the creative sector.
The format of the evening features short sessions by local creatives on a variety of topics.
The March event sessions deal with:
DIY Podcasting and How to Use Social Media as a Creative Tool led by Amber Viola. Amber is the host and producer of the podcast, Politics but make it Fashion. She is also the first Black female commander of the Gouldsboro American Legion Post 274 and is completing a Master’s Degree in social work at Marywood University.
Art as Activism will be led by Corianne Thompson. Corianne is a lecturer in Art at Penn State Scranton and has been teaching professionally for over a decade. She earned both her MAT and BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD. She is a ceramic artist and her abstract wheel thrown, porcelain vessels feature hand-built elements.
Living with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Navigating the Future-Current Trends in AI To Enhance Working Environments led by John Klimkiewicz. Mr. Klimkiewicz is co-owner of 5395 Media LLC, an audio and video production company. He has a degree in Radio, Film and Television and has produced audio and video commercials, industrial videos, and book trailers.
The partnership between Penn State Scranton, NEPA Creative, and Lackawanna County was formed at a workshop the Arts and Culture Department sponsored in June 2022. Creative Entrepreneurship is an important part of Pennsylvania’s economy. A 2019 study by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts noted that the creative sector supported 190,000+ jobs and accounted for $27.1 billion and 3.4% of the Pennsylvania economy. The Pandemic also inspired a rise in people starting their own businesses with a 28% increase in 2022 from 2019.
Representatives from NEPA Creative and Penn State Scranton are also developing educational and social opportunities for creative entrepreneurs and business students. The Lackawanna County Arts and Culture department is working with Penn State to create internship programs for students interested in creative entrepreneurship that will kick off this Summer.
Future NEPA Creative Meetups at the Penn State Scranton Campus will be held June 20 and September 19. For a full list of NEPA Creative events and programs, visit NepaCreative.com.
Parking for the program is available in the lot in front of the Dawson Building at the top of the campus. Attendees should then follow the steps to the Study Learning Center Building.
For more information on this program, contact the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department at 570.496.1724 or arts-culture@lackawannacounty.org.