Contact: Jack Bailey (304) 766-4109 jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va.West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) Creators Program opens its seventh season with a series of talks targeting authors, filmmakers, musicians and visual storytellers. The free Creators Talks will take place throughout the coming months at the WVSU Economic Development Center (EDC) in Charleston, beginning Sept. 12.
“We’re excited to have a strong line-up for our seventh season of the Creators Program,” said Program Coordinator Daniel Boyd, a retired WVSU professor, author, filmmaker and playwright. “We’ve been a central oasis for both up-and-coming and seasoned professional creators, including some of the state’s most accomplished creators.”
The fall series of sessions, Boyd said, will continue that tradition.
The series will begin with “The CAUSE in the Works of Daniel Boyd” on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. Known for “sensationalized” works and genres, Boyd has quietly built cause and message into nearly all of his movies, books and theater projects. During his Creators Talk, Boyd will take attendees on a “journey of 39 years of creating entertainment with a cause.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., authors Anna Egan Smucker and Marc Harshman, West Virginia’s poet laureate, will discuss the joys and challenges of constructing “Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece,” a nonfiction work for children more than a decade in the making. The book has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, as well as positive reviews from the School Library Journal and the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. It was also named an Amazon Children’s Non-Fiction Book of the Month.
On Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., photojournalist Brad Rice of WCHS-TV will present a Creators Talk entitled “Sharing West Virginia Stories: Traveling with Brad Rice.” Inspired at an early age by the images in West Virginia magazine and through travels with his father and grandfather, Rice has been sharing unique Appalachian culture as part of his “Traveling West Virginia” news segments for years. He will share several of his favorite stories from his travels and documentary projects.
The Creators Program launched in 2012 as a series of community workshops focusing on skills and knowledge essential to creating for mass media and art. Workshops and talks are designed for people of all skill levels, including students and others interested in expanding their creative endeavors.
Each Creators Talk is free to attend. Space is limited, and registration is required. To register, visit or call (304) 720-1401.
The WVSU EDC is located at 1506 Kanawha Blvd. W. in Charleston.
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