Arts critic Andrew Patner will speak on the campus of Arkansas State University-Jonesboro Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr.

Patner has distinguished himself for the range of his arts interests, including art and architecture, classical music and opera, theatre and dance, books and film. He has written for the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 10 years and contributed to New Yorker, London’s Art Newspaper, Opera News and many online publications. He is the author of “I.F. Stone: A Portrait,” published by Pantheon, 1988 and Anchor paperback, 1990.

He is a native Chicagoan and a lifelong observer of the arts in Chicago. A former editor and staff writer of Chicago magazine and staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, he was an arts critic and program host and producer for WBEZ-FM, Chicago’s NPR affiliate, for eight years. A regular contributor to the Chicago Sun-Times, he is now heard as critic and interviewer on WFMT Fine Arts Radio.

Educated at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin, his writings appear in numerous publications. He is a winner of the Peter Lisagor Award for his coverage of race and politics on the eve of Harold Washington’s election as Chicago’s first African American mayor.

He was director of “Democratic Vistas: Towards a New American Arts Policy,” a series of programs and discussions at Columbia College Chicago. He is a frequent lecturer and teacher both in Chicago and in Eastern Europe. He is an active member of the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics, The Cliff Dwellers, and the Arts Club of Chicago, where he serves as co-chair of the Interarts Council.

Patner’s visual arts areas of interest include:  modern and contemporary art, European painting and sculpture, world cultures, photography, art history, architecture, arts education, interdisciplinary work, politics and policy.

The ASU Lecture~Concert Series presents diverse programs to enrich the cultural life of the campus, community and region. All programs are free and open to the public.

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