Crazy for the Arts? Don't Miss the 2015 LoKo Festival at SUNY Potsdam

Related Media

The 2015 Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts will be offered from April 24 to May 3 at SUNY Potsdam. All events are free and open to the public.

• The LoKo Festival at SUNY Potsdam will highlight the full spectrum of the arts. For more, visit potsdam.edu/loko.
• Guest artists are headed to SUNY Potsdam for the 2015 Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, from April 24 to May 3.

POTSDAM, NY (04/14/2015)(readMedia)-- The arts will come alive at SUNY Potsdam from April 24 to May 3, through the fourth annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts. Both campus and community are welcome to experience a variety of cross-disciplinary art experiences at the 2015 LoKo Festival.

The North Country's most comprehensive arts festival, the LoKo Festival includes a wide array of events, including author readings, theatre productions, multimedia presentations, art openings, special exhibitions, public lectures, masterclasses and concerts.

Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed, Hon. '54, founded the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts in 2012, to bring the campus festival tradition back to Kathy's alma mater.

"Being 'LoKo' for the arts means that we are passionate about the culture of creativity on our campus, and that we embrace the diversity of expression that is embodied here at SUNY Potsdam," President Kristin G. Esterberg said. "We are so thankful to the Lougheeds for making this incredible festival possible, both for our campus and the entire North Country community."

The full jam-packed schedule of events can be found at www.potsdam.edu/loko. Printed schedules are also available on campus.

All events are free and open to the public.

The 2015 Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts will welcome a number of visiting artists to campus for its fourth season.

The award-winning Chinese-American playwright and television screenwriter Elizabeth Wong is in residence on campus, and will direct a SUNY Potsdam production of her play, "Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King." Chinese opera, anime and hip hop collide in this energetic and charming play. Wong's other critically acclaimed plays include "China Doll (An Imagined Life of an American Actress)" and "Letters to a Student Revolutionary." She has also written for television's "All American Girl," starring Margaret Cho. Wong is a visiting lecturer at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where her papers are archived, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California.

J. Maarten Troost, the author of "The Sex Lives of Cannibals," "Getting Stoned with Savages," "Lost on Planet China" and "Headhunters on my Doorstep," will also visit for the LoKo Festival. Born in the Netherlands, the bestselling author is well known for his comic travel writing, and has lived in seven countries and traveled extensively.

The accomplished choreographer and dancer Antonio Brown will work with students to perform a work based on the groundbreaking piece "Story/Time." Brown is a member of the celebrated Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

SUNY Potsdam alumnus Todd McGrain '83 is the multitalented sculptor, filmmaker, author and creative director behind "The Lost Bird Project." He has created incredible sculpted memorials to five extinct species of North American birds, which have each been permanently placed at locations in the birds' former habitats, and were also displayed at the Smithsonian. A documentary about the project is airing on public television nationwide this spring. He is the artist-in-residence at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and is the winner of the 2014 Audubon Award for Art Inspiring Conservation.

These are just a few of the many guest artists taking part in this year's festival. To keep up with the latest, visit www.facebook.com/lokofestival.

North Country Public Radio is the media sponsor for the 2015 Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts at SUNY Potsdam.

Several events will stream live online, at www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

For a full schedule and listing of events, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

###