Missouri Creative Talent on Display at Hancock Symposium

Missouri creative talent will be on display when the Westminster community comes together September 11-12 for the 2018 Hancock Symposium, a major annual event at the College.  

The theme for this year’s Symposium is Creativity and Innovation: Imagining Our Way Into the Future.  

A number of the Missouri speakers will include:  

• David Wilson, one of the founders of Ragtag Cinema and co-founder of the True/False Film Festival, a four-day weekend of creative placemaking in which filmmakers, artists, musicians, and others remake Columbia, MO into an artist’s paradise, will speak on Film Festivals as Creative Placemaking or What Artists Can Learn from Disneyland at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12 in Champ Auditorium; 

• Ashley Tate, the founder, artistic director, and lead choreographer of Ashleyliane Dance Company of St. Louis, MO will discuss Community in Creativity: Dance as a Unifying Art Form at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the Coulter Science Center Lecture Hall; 

• Mark Anastasio, an engineering professor from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, who is an international expert on his topic, Computational Methods for Modern Biomedical Imaging Systems, and will be presenting at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in Room 304 of the Coulter Science Center; 

• Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri, co-founder and artistic director of GreenHouse Theatre Project, an innovative theatre company that performs in nontraditional spaces, including living rooms, in Columbia, MO will talk about A Resourceful Performance at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12 in the Hermann Lounge; 

• Jane Mudd, artist and Assistant Professor of Art at William Woods University and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Art House, a nonprofit regional art gallery offering exhibits, classes, and special events in Fulton, MO, will explain to attendees Seeing Like an Artist at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11 in Room 126 of the Coulter Science Center; and 

• Beth Snyder, owner and product development of OneCanoeTwo, an illustration company in Fulton, MO that spreads joy through cheerful, thoughtful paper goods and gifts, will talk to attendees about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mountains, and Canoes: The Creativity in Etsy Entrepreneurship at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in Room 206 of the Coulter Science Center.    

Since 2006, the Hancock Symposium has challenged students through intellectual discourse in two engaging days of lectures, panel discussions, and presentations on one particular subject of global interest.   

Classes are suspended for the day so the entire Westminster family can benefit from the distinguished speakers invited from across the country.   All sessions are free and open to the public. 

  Visit wcmo.edu/symposium/ to learn about speakers, schedule of events and more.    

Follow #WCSymposium on social media for the latest updates and conversation about the event.