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Week of Jan. 25, 2023 Home of The Camahan Family
CazenoviaRepublican.com
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Art community mulls impact of college closing
School news
Athletic field improvement moves forward
Superintendent speaks about college closing
By kate Hill Staff Writer On Jan. 18, CazArts creative alliance gathered representatives of the local arts community at the Cazenovia Public Library & Museum (CPL) to begin exploring options for the future of the arts without Cazenovia College. On Dec. 7, 2022, the nearly 200-year-old college announced its decision to permanently close following the spring 2023 semester due to financial difficulties. The meeting of the arts community explored how the closing is expected to impact the arts, where things stand with the college and what is being done, ideas for repurposing the college’s facilities, and ways the arts can aid in the reimagining of the community’s future. The following organizations were represented: CazArts, Catherine Cummings Theatre, Cazenovia Artisans, Carpenter’s Barn Studio Artists, Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), Cazenovia Area Painters, Cazenovia Art Trail, Cazenovia College Art & Design Program, Cazenovia College Art Gallery in Reisman Hall, Cazenovia Counterpoint, Cazenovia Forum, Cazenovia Heritage, Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF), CPL, Cazenovia Watercolor Society, Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lorenzo State Historic Site, National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, New Woodstock Free Library, and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. “Many of us were finding that no matter where we went, we were hearing conversations
Kate Hill
On Jan. 18, CazArts creative alliance held a meeting of the local arts community to begin planning for the future of the arts without Cazenovia College. [about the college],” said CazArts President Geoffrey Navias, who facilitated the meeting. “People care about the college closing and are worried and upset, so there were lots of conversations. Lots of it was [based on] misinformation or not full information or just no information at all. So, we thought, ‘We need to call a meeting and start to get as accurate of information as we can out to [the arts community] and talk about what we are going to do.’ That is what we are doing tonight.” Before proceeding with the bulk of the evening’s agenda, Navias took a few moments to acknowledge the many facilities, programs and supports that the community is losing due to the college closing. The college consists of the main village campus, the Stephen M. Schneeweiss Athletic Complex at the end of Liberty Street, the Jephson Campus (South Campus) on Albany Street, the Catherine Cummings Theatre on Lincklaen Street, other village properties, and the Equine Education Center outside the village on Woodfield Road. Navias invited the attendees to share the aspects of the college that they are currently grieving. The group came up with a list that included concerns about the loss of the following: stu-
dents and parents; diversity; the print shop and bookstore; programs/events that connect the college to the community such as Jazz-N-Caz, Great Minds/Great Ideas Lecture Series and continuing education programs; tourism; the theatre and art gallery; the athletic complex; well-maintained campus gardens, facilities, and streets; jobs; and the community’s identity. “[This list] is on top of the fact that we are grieving a couple of years of the pandemic and hard political times; there is a lot of grief that we are carrying with us,” said Navias.
Cazenovia College closing background, current situation
CACDA Executive Director Lauren Lines summarized the circumstances that led to the college’s decision to close. Lines explained that the institution was faced with a “perfect storm” of multiple external considerations, including unfavorable demographics. According to Lines, Cazenovia College is certainly not alone in this respect. A lot of small colleges across the county are experiencing similar enrollment issues, and the issue is about to get even worse. Lines explained that the population of colArts l Page 2
Artists to present workshop in Carpenter’s Barn By kate Hill Staff Writer
On Saturday, Feb. 25, professional exhibiting artists Jen Pepper and Pilar Figueira will encourage community members to ignite their inner artists through a creative, mixed-media workshop inside Carpenter’s Barn at Lakeland Park in Cazenovia. Open to ages 16 and older and all artistic levels, the program will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a snow date of Saturday, March 4. “The guided workshop will introduce artistic materials and techniques to all, whatever their level, from [beginner] to advanced students,” said Pepper. “We will work with collage, stencils, and a variety of acrylic mediums and paint on stretch canvases.” All supplies will be provided, and each participant will leave with a 12x16-inch canvas ready to hang on their wall. “This opportunity will not only set fire to the participants’ creative souls, giving each new techniques to continue to explore beyond the workshop, but it will also be a morning to meet other like-minded people and make new friends,” said Figueira. Carpenter’s Barn was originally built in 1889 as a carriage house for the former Lakeland estate (now Lakeland Park). Through the efforts of CazArts creative alliance, in cooperation with the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association, the Village of Cazenovia, and Cazenovia College, the stone building has been refurbished and repurposed to serve as a dynamic arts hub and “welcoming gateway” to the village. The barn’s main room has been transformed into a multi-purpose Community Arts Hall,
which is available for classes, meetings, workshops, performances, and programs. The stables have been redesigned into a large, shared art studio with six workstations for artists who want to rent their own dedicated space and work around other artists. Pepper and Figueira, who both work out of The Artist Studio at Carpenter’s Barn, plan to bring their unique artistic skillsets and instructional experience to their upcoming workshop. Figueira (pilarfigueira.com) is a Portuguese artist who, according to her website, “creates period paintings of scenes that feel strikingly familiar with brush strokes of oil and nostalgia.” “By representing common experiences shared in old photographs, her paintings transform old memories into new narratives, creating figurative portraits that are both anonymous in nature but also very personal,” the website states. “. . . Women play a crucial pictorial role in her work.” Figueira’s work has been exhibited at the Blaffer Art Museum, the Lawndale Art Center’s “The Big Show” in Houston, Texas, and the Vignette Art Fair at The Women’s Museum in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. She currently has an exhibition titled “Recollection” on display in the Cazenovia Public Library Gallery through Jan. 31. Born in Canada, Pepper (jenpepper.com) is a visual artist who works in both two- and three-dimensional media. She has exhibited in solo and group shows internationally since 1990. Her work has been reviewed in “Sculpture” magazine among other journals, and she has been an artist in residence at institutions throughout the world. Pepper holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art & Design and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Connecticut. She is a professor of
Submitted photos
On Feb. 25, professional artists Jen Pepper and Pilar Figueira will present a creative, mixed-media workshop in Carpenter’s Barn. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is open to ages 16 and older and all artistic levels. art and art history at Cazenovia College and the director of the Cazenovia College Art Gallery in Reisman Hall. Figueira and Pepper’s Feb. 25 workshop is limited to 25 participants. Sign up by emailing pilar.figueira@gmail.com. The cost per participant is $60, which includes four hours of full instruction and all materials. A registration fee of $30 is required to be paid by Feb. 18. To learn more about CazArts and Carpenter’s Barn, visit cazarts.com/carpenters_barn.
By kate hill Staff writer During the Jan. 23 Cazenovia Central School District Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio addressed an inquiry made during the public comment period as to whether the district has considered purchasing Cazenovia College’s athletic field. The question followed the Dec. 7, 2022, announcement that the college will be permanently closing following the spring 2023 semester due to financial concerns. The community member specifically asked if the district has explored purchasing the college’s synthetic turf “Christakos Field” instead of moving forward with its plans to install turf at the district’s Emory Avenue Complex. During the superintendent’s report, DiFulvio announced that the college is not currently for sale. He also stated that he has been participating in a group of local leaders and community members that has been discussing what the future might look like without the college. According to the superintendent, the group has established a goal of keeping the campus intact rather than it being carved up and sold off piecemeal. “[The goal] is to try to make sure the college stays together in one piece so there are no ancillary parts of the college that are for sale,” DiFulvio said. “I think it’s also important to note that if there was an ancillary part of the college for sale, it’s not connected to the school district, and we would need funds approved by the taxpayer to add to our overall operating budget to operate any of those facilities.” For the district to receive state aid, DiFulvio explained, the property would need to be directly connected to a school campus and available to students during the day. The facility itself would also need to be renovated to meet New York State Education Department (SED) standards, which would also fall on the local taxpayer. “If something changes down the road, we will certainly do our due diligence if something makes sense for the school district,” DiFulvio said. He concluded by stating that, at this point, the group believes it is in the community’s best interest to find a future use for the campus that duplicates the many jobs that are being lost and the significant economic impact the college has had on the area. During the Facilities Committee report, Chairperson David Mehlbaum provided an update on the status of the district’s $10,713,319 Phase II Capital Project, which is aimed at modernizing the physical education, athletics, and community facilities at the Emory Avenue Complex to include a multi-purpose sports stadium and synthetic turf fields. According to Mehlbaum, the project, which was approved by voters on March 30, 2022, is currently under review by the SED. The review process is expected to be completed by mid-February. “[That] would enable us to move out to bidding, which, at the moment if we stay on track, would be in March, [which] would result in a mobilization in April,” he said. Work would begin on the upper field first and then commence on the lower field a couple of months later. Therefore, the upper field will be Project l Page 12
Volume 214, Number 4 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
sports news: Caz indoor girls excel at Utica meet. PAGE 13
A&E: Casting director presents on background acting, auditioning.
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Editorial ��������������������� 4
obituaries ���������������� 13
HISTORY ������������������������ 4
PennySaver ���������������� 6
LETTERS ������������������������ 4
Sports ����������������������� 13