Scott Townsend visits Thessaloniki for the "Social Capital" exhibition

The Dukakis Center will host an exhibition of design work by Scott Townsend, Professor of Graphic Design at North Carolina State University, at the French Institute of Thessaloniki, Salle Allatini-Dasault, from June 21 till July 13, 2017, with the inauguration to take place on Tuesday, June 27, at 5 pm. The exhibition will coincide with an innovative summer service learning project pairing students from ACT, under the direction of Dr. Maria Patsarika, and from NC State, who are traveling in Greece with Professor Townsend.
 
The rationale behind the Center’s involvement in and sponsorship of these projects is three-fold.
 
First, Professor Townsend is one of a few colleagues from NC State with whom members of the ACT community have been interfacing, with a view toward forging long-term study abroad relationships with different departments at the University. An international service learning partnership looks to be in the offing as one of the tangible outcomes of the exhibition and service learning project. A virtual iteration of the collaboration is already scheduled to take place during the Fall 2017 semester at both institutions.
 
Second, both projects will enable the Dukakis Center to enhance its foothold in the field of community and urban policy. Professor Townsend’s work focuses on "creative community and social innovation through design," which falls clearly within the mandate of the Dukakis Center. The College of Design at NC State is similarly of interest to the Dukakis Center for its role in the North Carolina Innovation Center. Furthermore, community policy is one of the focus areas of the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University. These linkages will prove useful as the Dukakis Center collaborates in various Resilient cities projects underway at the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
 
Finally, the exhibition allows the Dukakis Center to broaden its local partnership in event management with the French Institute of Thessaloniki. The IFT, after its French acronym, is well known in Thessaloniki for its cultural programming. The IFT co-hosted a Dukakis Lecture with renowned French journalist Jean Quatremer in November 2015. Professor Townsend’s exhibition will be an attraction at three concerts scheduled to take place at the IFT, on June 21, 22, and 26. These concerts promise to attract large Francophone audiences which may not otherwise be acquainted with the activities of the Dukakis Center.
The exhibition and service learning project are the final Dukakis Center activities of the 2016-17 academic year.
 
Event: "Social Capital," work by Scott Townsend, North Carolina State University
Exhibition inauguration: Tuesday, June 27, 5 PM
Venue: French Institute of Thessaloniki, Salle Allatini-Dassault
Opening hours: Mondays through Thursdays, 5 – 9 pm, June 21 – July 13
 
For further information please contact the Dukakis Center by email at dukakis-center@act.edu.