Will feature MacArthur “Genius” Vijay Gupta & Pulitzer Prize winner Joe Hallinan

Cleveland State University’s 2019 Arts Summit will highlight the community value of arts education and creative thinking, while promoting the tremendous benefit provided by the numerous arts and humanities organizations that call Northeast Ohio home. The Summit will include talks by noted violinist and social justice advocate Vijay Gupta and prominent investigative journalist and author Joe Hallinan.

The event will be held Friday, June 21, and will include a morning panel discussion, Improvisation in Art and in Life: Creative Decision Making, hosted by ideastream and an Arts Education Luncheon at the State Theater at Playhouse Square. Click here for more information.

Students in CSU’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College will assist in curating the morning event, including developing topic ideas, selecting panelists and having the opportunity to meet with Hallinan to discuss journalism and the creative process. They will also attend the arts luncheon and meet with Gupta to further explore the topics of social justice and the arts.

“The Arts Summit is dedicated to promoting the value of the arts and humanities in enhancing investigation, dialogue and creative thinking, and I am delighted that we are able to feature two leading figures in their respective fields, Vijay Gupta and Joe Hallinan. They are both truly creative thinkers,” says Katie Shames, director of the Center for Arts and Innovation at CSU and organizer of the Summit. “I am also extremely pleased that we are creating a distinctive and immersive Engaged Learning experience for our students.”

Vijay Gupta is an acclaimed classical violinist who made his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 19. He is a celebrated advocate for the power of music to address chronic social ills, serving as artistic director of Street Symphony, which provides music education and engagement for homeless and incarcerated communities. In honor of his musical excellence and social activism he was selected as a 2018 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.

Joe Hallinan is a journalist and author based in Chicago. He has written for numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Sunday Times of London, and is the author of four books. While with the Indianapolis Star, he won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.

For over two decades the CSU Arts Summit has brought together local and national leaders in the arts and humanities to celebrate the power of the arts and arts education to lift up communities, promote open dialogue and enhance creativity.