| UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON’S UW WORLD SERIES TO LAUNCH NEW IDENTITY AS MEANY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS |
| Expands scope from arts presenter to include public engagement, learning and creative research in the arts |
| March 21, 2016
Seattle, WA – The University of Washington announced today that the UW World Series, one of Seattle’s leading performing arts presenters, will begin the 2016-17 Season under a new name and identity: Meany Center for the Performing Arts. The change reflects an expanded, more dynamic role as a world-class center for performance, public engagement, learning and creative research in the arts. “The University of Washington World Series has been bringing extraordinary artists from around the globe to Seattle for over 37 years, and that commitment continues,” says Michelle Witt, executive and artistic director of Meany Center. “But our program has grown to become something much more: a dynamic, creative hub with a broader mission to connect diverse audiences, students and faculty with visionary artists and ideas, nurture a culture of shared discovery and inspire our local, national and international communities. We do this by collaborating with artists who demonstrate the most original, innovative, courageously realized examples of human creativity and expression.” Located on the UW Seattle campus, Meany Center is uniquely positioned to leverage the vast intellectual and creative resources of the University of Washington to support learning and advance excellence and innovation in the performing arts. The Center will facilitate scholarly and artistic partnerships, support creative research, deepen audiences’ access to and understanding of artists and art forms, rethink the context of performance spaces and explore contemporary ideas through the lens of the performing arts. Renowned cellist and arts ambassador Yo-Yo Ma recently endorsed the new vision, “I was so pleased to learn about the exciting developments at Meany Hall when I visited the University of Washington last December. Through a wealth of programs, this great learning center is engaging students, faculty and the greater Seattle community in a wonderful exchange about arts and culture. In a creative environment such as this, new thinking and new ideas are supported, and new collaborations can flourish. I am looking forward to returning in October to celebrate the opening of Meany Center for the Performing Arts with an important new project that Meany Center has co-commissioned.” Earlier this month, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the University of Washington a three-year, $750,000 grant to support a Creative Fellowships Initiative. The Initiative, spearheaded by Meany Center, supports the development of new artistic work and connects the arts, sciences and humanities. Through research-directed interdisciplinary creative residencies, the Initiative provides a way forward, both to serve the performing arts field and to champion the values of art in the culture at large. “Meany Center for the Performing Arts is a national model of innovative performance, public engagement, learning and creative research in the arts,” said Ana Mari Cauce, President of the University of Washington. “The Center clearly supports the University’s mission to advance new knowledge, foster creativity and effect positive change in the world.” The new Meany Center identity will roll out with the announcement of the 2016-17 Season on April 4, 2016. |
