Rebekah Drozd

Moravian College Arts on the Move

9 December 2013
Moravian College has created a new program for students to experience arts and concerts
in the Lehigh Valleyfree of charge. Dubbed Arts on the Move, the progressive initiative is coled by Christopher Shorr, Director of Theatre, and Ann Claussen, Director of HUB and Event
Management.
Moravian College is the first academic institution in the Lehigh Valley to fund its
students local art explorations. Arts on the Move may well set a standard that will influence
other colleges to follow suit.
If every college in the Lehigh Valley caught on to this, it would really make a
difference,. said Shorr. Money is the biggest barrier for students to seeing arts in the
community. said Shorr.

Although digital screens across the campus advertise the program, students are only
beginning to take advantage of it. Matthew Dill, a sophomore at Moravian College who works at
the HUB Desk says, Students are catching on to the program slowly.
Ordering tickets is a simple process. Students can go to the HUB desk and browse
through a binder of brochures and show listings. Once they find something interesting, they can
request tickets by submitting a form online. The requestor will receive an email notification when
the ticket is secured. Moravian College will receive an invoice when the ticket is issued and pick
up the ticket tab.

Arts on the Move is also open to the wider Moravian community under certain
circumstances. Faculty, alumni and retirees can participate in this program if they want to take a
group of students to an event, Shorr said.
The Arts on the Move program does not provide transportation to events. However they
get there and whomever they go with, the program succeeds every time a Moravian College
student takes advantage of it. So does the community at large.
Art audiences and activities are slowly dying; the past generations had a stronger
appreciation for the arts. Arts on the Move is trying to give students a better sense of whats out
there in the community, said Shorr.
The program does place restrictions on what it will pay for students to see. For example,
Arts on the Move will not buy tickets for concerts at the Sands in the Air Products room, but will
for a concert at folk club Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem.
There needs to be a line somewhere on whats appropriate for students to see. Its not a
value judgment, its whats appropriate for this particular program, said Shorr. Claussen and
Shorr decide on a case-by-case basis which events fit the Arts on the Move model.
Take for example the Dec. 13 Kennedys show at Godfrey Daniels. The Kennedys are a
married, folk-pop-country-rock duo that performs original songs. If students want to attend this
event, Arts on the Move will fund their tickets.
If its something that you might not be exposed to, well pick it. Arts on the Move gives
that little push for students to explore the arts in the community, Shorr said.
Adds Dill: I think its a good idea, it just needs time.