Thursday, April 25, 2002

By ROBERT BAXTER
Courier-Post Staff

For 20 years, Sallie Paris has taught and inspired a generation of artists in her Collingswood school and in area art centers.

Friday morning, Paris will tap the creative talents of South Jersey business leaders when she "breaks the ice" before the Annual Business/Arts Summit at the South Jersey Performing Arts Center on the Camden Waterfront.

When attendees register, Paris will encourage them to step up to a large canvas and deliver an artistic message.

"Art gives people a wonderful way to express their feelings and their ideas," said Paris, who lives in Haddon Township. "On Friday, I'm going to try to help business leaders express their creativity by painting a mural."

Paris will bring material from her studio for people to use. Summit organizers will also provide brushes and paints.

"We hope the mural will reflect the creative energy people are bringing to the summit," said Bruce A. Curless, producing artistic director of the Ritz Theatre and a summit organizer.

"The mural will be either a mess or a masterpiece, but it will make a statement that celebrates the partnership between businesses and arts groups."

Curless hopes the mural will stimulate creative thought before business and corporate leaders focus on ways to work with South Jersey arts groups.

After the 7:45 a.m. registration and mural painting, the day-long summit offers a full agenda:

•8:15 a.m. Welcome address by Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden.

•9 a.m. Panel discussion on business/arts success stories featuring Mary Karr, director of community relations for National Cash Register; Mary Louise Fazzano of Changing Our World; and Barbara Rambo, director of New Jersey Grantmakers.

•10 a.m. Arts Organization Expo/Networking Session.

•10:30 a.m. Panel discussion featuring Dorothy Ryall of the cultural council of Richland and Lexington counties, S.C.; Molly Sasse, executive director of Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga, Tenn.; James Kellogg of the Community Foundation of New Jersey; and Robert Krumbine, vice president of programs and events at Center City Partners of Charlotte, N.C.

•11:30 a.m. Arts Organization Expo/Networking Session.

•12:30 p.m. Lunch with keynote speaker, Willard Scott of NBC.

•2:30 to 3:30 p.m. "Arts as a Business Tool" workshop.

•3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Refreshments and networking.

The 3:30 p.m. workshop will be led by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company, a Massachusetts-based theater troupe.

Packer will address "Parallels of Power" between Shakespearean rulers and contemporary business leaders and will also address team-building issues.

The Arts Expo is a new addition to the summit. Businesses and arts groups will display promotional material and brochures and seek to make partnerships through their displays and personal contact.

Representatives of Fleet Bank attended the summit for the first time last year. This year, Fleet has stepped forward as a presenting sponsor in association with the Arts and Business Partnership of Southern New Jersey, Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Waterfront Arts/South Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Major sponsors include Lockheed Martin Technology Services, Capehart Scatchard, Armand Corp., Comcast, Conectiv, The Courier-Post/Gannett Foundation, Valero Refining, WMSH Marketing, St. Lawrence Cement, PNC Foundation and Burlington County College.