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Applications for residency in Lafayette’s Arts Houses, located at 623, 626, 641, and 643 Parsons Street (behind the Williams Center for the Arts), are due tomorrow.
Forms are available from Allison Quensen Blatt, Williams Center operations director, in Williams Center room 133. Interviews for applicants will be scheduled during the first week of April. Applications are reviewed by a committee of Williams Center staff and graduating Arts House residents.
The Arts Houses are home to as many as 12 students who serve as the leadership for the Lafayette Arts Society, a group of musicians, actors, visual artists, designers, dancers, directors, writers, and avid performance-goers.
Lafayette Arts Society meets several times a semester, in addition to getting together for programs and activities. It works with the constituent organizations of the Williams Center for the Arts (Performance Series, College Theater, Art Gallery, and music and art departments) to advance the presence of the fine and performing arts on campus. The Arts Society sponsors, presents, and manages regular, ongoing arts-related programs and activities, as well as special events open to all students. All members are expected to participate in Arts Society activities, including fundraising, and to frequently attend performances and events presented by the constituent organizations of the Williams Center for the Arts.
Members receive discounts or other privileges for some cultural events, including two free College Theater tickets and discounts for art department trips to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The next trip will be Saturday, April 5.
Upcoming on-campus events include dinner with Rennie Harris and his Facing Mekka company Wednesday, a Cafe Night at Gilbert’s Friday, April 11, and informal “art therapy” with crayons or fingerpaints this is being planned.
Past activities this school year have included a Swing Dance Party earlier this month, a publication party for the Marquis literary magazine in December; a Midterm Meditation Garden in the Williams Center lobby for a week in October; a Pre-Game Block pARTy before the football home opener in September; post-performance receptions for all College Theater and Performance Series events; jazz jam sessions; dance classes (hip-hop, swing, waltz) sponsored with Recreation Services (Arts Society members enroll for half-price); and a Writing Circle.
Upcoming Arts Society trips include a Jazztap performance at Muhlenberg College Saturday, March 29; First Friday in Southside Bethlehem on April 4, taking in artists’ studios at the Banana Factory, gallery exhibitions, and special items in shops; Allentown Art Museum Sunday, April 13, to view its Edward Weston photographs; and Lehigh University Sunday, April 27, to see Speak Softly and Carry a Beagle: The Art of Charles Schulz. In addition, a trip to Deer Head Inn in the Poconos for dinner and live jazz is being planned, and the group will march in the Forks of the Delaware Shad Fishing Tournament and Celebration Doo-Dah Parade in downtown Easton Sunday, May 4.
Past trips this school year have included a touring performance of STOMP! last October; a visit to Allentown Art Museum, viewing special exhibitions and exploring the permanent collection; and First Fridays.
Students living in the Arts Houses pay off-campus housing rates and must arrange for their own telephone, Internet, and cable television service.