Music Professor to Participate in Latino Arts Advocacy Leadership Institute

NWA Democrat Gazette

Lia Uribe

Lia Uribe, assistant professor of music in the Department of Music, has been selected to participate in the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Advocacy Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., April 8-10.

The NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute's curriculum covers material such as the leadership role of artists and organizations in promoting policies for cultural equity and social justice; advocating for a range of issues such as research funding for creative arts therapies within health agencies; maintaining and increasing deferred action programs; and increasing access to equitable arts education with culturally-relevant pedagogy.

NALAC President and CEO María De León, expressed, "Latinx arts and culture plays a significant role in the development of a new framework in the equitable support of the arts and the promotion of social justice.  The voices of Latinx artists will be heard in the halls of Congress illuminating the power of their work."

During the 3-day intensive institute, Uribe and fellow participants will meet with leaders from Americans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and various Smithsonian Institutions, before meeting with her Arkansas congressional leaders.

"Being part of the NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute is a great honor, and a wonderful opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded artists, cultural workers, and advocates for the arts. I'm looking forward to delving deeply in conversations about diversity, inclusiveness and equity for all artists, and to strengthen my voice as an agent of change in my community," Uribe said.

Originally from Cali, Colombia, Uribe maintains an active career as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and artist-teacher. Her performances have taken her to venues and festivals in Colombia, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Finland, Germany, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Peru, England, and multiple venues in the United States. She performs and tours on a regular basis with the Lyrique Quintette, woodwind quintet in residence at the University of Arkansas. Uribe is a facilitator for Artist INC, a Mid-American Arts Alliance professional development program for artists. In January of 2019 she was invited to join the biennial Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium for young women bassoonists from the Americas as a panelist speaking of her work and its impact on people and community. She is presently a member of the Walton Arts Center Board of Directors.