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Free Screening of “Creative Abundance” to be Held Sept. 10


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There will be a free public screening of the documentary film “Creative Abundance” on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in Schoonover Auditorium. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and a dessert reception will follow the screening in Schoonover Lobby. Special guests Ohio University President Roderick J. McDavis and benefactor Barbara Geralds will be present at the event.

The “Creative Abundance” documentary examines services in place for individuals with developmental disabilities, usually in the form of vocational and rehabilitative workshops, which are often sheltered from the public eye and from community interaction. Through the efforts of artist and social innovator Patty Mitchell and President of Norwich Consulting Services Susan Dlouhy this film looks at the roots of organizational innovation and social change. Both Mitchell and Dlouhy see workshops as an opportunity to integrate art programming to develop the talent of the individuals they work with and the community they are a part of.

“We are excited to share “Creative Abundance” with the general public,” said Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact Co-Director Dr. Lynn Harter. “For two years we have documented the extraordinary efforts of Patty, Susan, and many other artists working to create artistic and vocational opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. We hope the film will inspire audiences to imagine a future beyond the familiar.”

The “Creative Abundance” screening coincides with the official opening day of the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact. The Institute is established in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and was approved by the Ohio University Board of Trustees on Friday, June 26. The institute is named for its primary benefactor, Barbara Geralds, and will both create stories with social impact and study storytelling from inception to delivery through its various forms.

The Storytelling Institute will utilize traditional storytelling forms such as radio broadcast, documentary film, photography and theater productions as well as innovative storytelling forms such as audio podcasts, digital simulations and holographic images. The institute will involve faculty and students in the production and analysis of stories, foster inter-disciplinary research to advance knowledge about storytelling, partner with private industry and non-profit organizations on interest-based projects, and collaborate with experts in virtual and augmented reality to create new methods of storytelling.

The institute is co-directed by School of Communication Studies Professor Lynn Harter and Joe Berman Professor of Communication and WOUB Public Media Director and General Manager Tom Hodson.

The free screening is in association with WOUB Public Media Center, The Courage of Creativity Initiative, and the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact.

Find additional information about the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact at this link. 

If you go:
“Creative Abundance” Free Screening
Thursday, September 10
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Screening at 7 p.m.
Schoonover Auditorium, Schoonover Center for Communication
20 E. Union St., Athens, OH
Dessert reception follows in Schoonover Lobby