Alverno Forum Will Explore the Benefits of the Arts

While the arts provide entertainment and aesthetic value, they also have historical, expressive, therapeutic, psychological and spiritual value. Painting, music, dance and drama also provide a catharsis, or cleansing of the soul. Alverno College is hosting a forum that will explore all of the beneficial aspects of the arts. Artists working in the community will explain how the arts changed their lives. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in a voice and movement workshop that will show them how to use their voices and bodies to feel physically and mentally healthier. Attendees can also create art that will help teachers in Puerto Rico buy books and classroom supplies in an ongoing effort to assist in the recovery following Hurricane Maria.

Presenters include:

• Alejandra Gonzalez, performer and national immigration rights advocate

• Malaika Osei, artistic director, Signature Dance Company
• Lynda Sommers, associate professor of Visual Arts, Alverno College

Participating organizations include:

• 88.9 Radio Milwaukee
• Alverno College Fine and Performing Arts
• Dominican High School
• Catholic Memorial High School
• Redline Art Gallery

The Alverno Forum series seeks to join community leaders in discussing cutting-edge topics that have a daily impact on the lives of people in our community and beyond. The next discussion in this year’s series takes place on Thursday, February 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the Bucyrus Conference Center inside the Sister Joel Read Center. The Alverno Forum series is free and open to the public. For more details, please visit our website at http://www.alverno.edu/forum/.

About Alverno College

Alverno College promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Undergraduate programs for women are offered in more than 60 areas of study, and graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology and business are open to women and men.

A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, ranks among the top schools in the Midwest for its commitment to undergraduate teaching and innovation by U.S. News & World Report. For the past two years, The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education named Alverno the country’s most inspiring college.

Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.