Olympus InVision Photo Festival Competition Winners Announced

November 12, 2014

BETHLEHEM, PA—ArtsQuest and Olympus Imaging America are pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Olympus InVision College Photography Contest. This year two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Olympus Visionary and InVision Artist in Residence Larry C. Price selected the winners. Their works are on display in the Crayola Gallery at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem through Dec. 14.

The winners of the 2014 InVision College Photography Contest, which highlights the work of students from universities throughout the Northeast, are:

First Place ($1,500 prize)
Sarabeth Brocklay of Allentown, PA
“Crossing”
Lehigh University, Bethlehem

Second Place ($1,000)
Luchen Wang of China
“The Other Side”
Lehigh University, Bethlehem

Third Place ($500)
Wanda Riley of Catawissa, PA
“Waiting for Prince Charming”
Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg

Honorable Mention
Mike Hoover of Thorndale, PA
“Allegory of the Cave”
University of the Arts, Philadelphia

For more information on the Olympus InVision Photo Festival, visit www.invisionphotofest.org.

2014 Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival Award Winners Announced

November 12, 2014

BETHLEHEM, PA–Several Lehigh Valley-area filmmakers were honored with awards for their work during the fourth-annual Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival (GLVFF), which took place Nov. 6-8 at the ArtsQuest Center’s Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at SteelStacks. The awards were presented Nov. 8 at the conclusion of the festival, which featured more than 20 different shorts and feature films produced by filmmakers from throughout the region.

2014 GLVFF award winners are:

Best Feature
Living with the Tiger
Mike Thomas and Roberta Morris Purdee, Easton

Best Documentary
Aftershocks
Jaccii Farris, Allentown

Best Short 10-40 minutes
S.T.E.M. Education and Technology: Philly Snapshot
Sumitha Ramesh, Colmar, Pa.

Best Short <10 minutes
Plugged In
Ryan Spence, Allentown

Best Commercial/PR Video
El Sistema
Phil Osborne, Allentown

Best Web Series
Shark Week
Marie Guglielmo, Allentown

Audience Award
The White Faced Man
Luke Ramer, Macungie

Honorable Mention, Audience Award
Just Like We Used To
Suzanne Doran, Allentown

Winners were selected by the GLVFF Jurying Panel, comprised of members of the ArtsQuest Film Committee and Lehigh Valley film community. Jurors were Courtney Eady, past GLVFF winner, ArtsQuest Cinema Committee member, filmmaker and post production supervisor for Beyonce: Life is But A Dream; Ben Hickernell, director of the independent films Backwards and Lebanon, PA; Gershon Hickson, founder of Movies at the Mill and currently editing Into the Woods; Ann Knerr, ArtsQuest Cinema Committee Chair and Southside International Film Festival Board member; and Michael Kramp, ArtsQuest Cinema Committee member and Professor of English at Lehigh University.

For more information on the Greater Lehigh Filmmaker Festival, visit our GLVFF festival page.

SteelStacks Wins Urban Land Institute ‘Global Award for Excellence’

October 23, 2014

BETHLEHEM, PA–SteelStacks, the arts and cultural campus located on the site of Bethlehem’s former Bethlehem Steel plant, has been honored with an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Global Award for Excellence for its role in helping to redevelop one of the largest Brownfields in the nation. The award was presented to Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Tony Hanna and ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks during ULI’s Fall Meeting in New York City Oct. 22.

SteelStacks was among the 13 real estate developments from around the world selected as winners in the 2014 ULI Global Awards for Excellence competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program. The winners included six projects in North America, four in Europe and three in Asia.

“The ULI Global Award for Excellence is a very prestigious honor, and we are proud to be included among some of the most creative and innovative land use and real estate development projects in the world,” says Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez. “We thank the Urban Land Institute and its jurying panel for recognizing SteelStacks for the unique role it is playing in revitalizing this former steel mill and our community.”

Opened in 2011, SteelStacks is a unique public-private partnership that is transforming one of the largest Brownfields under redevelopment in the nation into a dynamic destination for music, art, festivals and cultural events. Public and nonprofit partners working together to bring new life to the former steel mill include the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Area School District, Northampton County, PBS39 and ArtsQuest. SteelStacks’ master site planning was done by Wallace Roberts & Todd, and architecture and landscape architecture were done by Artefact, Spillman Farmer Architects, URS Corporation, USA Architects and Wallace Roberts & Todd. Lighting at SteelStacks was done by L’Observatoire International and Speirs + Major.

“SteelStacks is an excellent example of how communities can work together to find creative solutions for reusing abandoned industrial sites and Brownfields,” says Hanna. “The unique combination of arts, culture and commerce at SteelStacks provides a special place for people to visit, learn and enjoy a wide variety of entertainment and community events.

“SteelStacks, as well as the adjacent Sands Casino Resort and its related development, will serve as catalysts for future development on the site and throughout Bethlehem’s SouthSide for years to come.”

The ULI Awards of Excellence, now in their 36th year, recognize real estate projects that achieve a high standard of excellence in design, construction, economics, planning and management. The program is viewed as the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development. SteelStacks was one of 23 finalists nominated for a ULI global award this year; the 2014 Global Award for Excellence, along with the earlier ULI Philadelphia Award for Excellence, marks the first time the entire SteelStacks campus has been honored with a major award.

“When we announced the SteelStacks project in 2005, we said that we were going to create one of the most unique performance sites in the world,” says Parks. “The ULI Global Award for Excellence affirms that we have succeeded in our goal. It also affirms that the Lehigh Valley is well on its way to reclaiming its place in the constellation of vibrant, creative, economically successful American communities.“

The complete list of ULI Global Award for Excellence winners (developers and architects in parentheses) is:

• 300 East Randolph, Chicago, IL, USA (Developer: Walsh Higgins & Company; Designer: Goettsch Partners) – A two-phased, vertically expanded office tower located in the city’s East Loop district.


• Cedar Gateway Apartments, San Diego, CA, USA (Developer: ROEM Development Corporation and Squier Properties, LLC; Designer: Silber Architects) – An environmentally friendly, multifamily apartment complex constructed in contemporary design to complement adjacent downtown buildings.


• Corvin Promenade, Budapest, Hungary (Developer: Futureal Group; Designer: Futureal Group, Rév8, et al) – Regeneration project in the heart of Budapest, creating a civic center for the city’s 8th district.


• GLP Misato III, Misato City, Japan (Developer: Global Logistic Properties; Designer: Global Logistic Properties, et al) – A state of the art, environmentally conscious logistic facility that aims for both business efficiency and environmental awareness.


• Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, Long Beach, CA, USA (Developer: Long Beach Judicial Partners LLC/Meridiam Infrastructure; Designer: AECOM) – An environmentally friendly, public building delivered through an innovative public-private partnership.


• Mercado do Bom Sucesso, Porto, Portugal (Developer: Urban Market Company et al; Designer: Ferreira de Almeida, Arquitectos LDA) – A renovated mixed-use, public building that incorporates its original function as a fresh good market with retail, hotels, and commercial space.


• Sixty London, London, UK (Developer: Bath House Development Limited; Designer: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) – Commercial office space that incorporates one of the area’s historic stone gatehouses.


• SteelStacks Art and Cultural Campus, Bethlehem, PA, USA (Developer: Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority; Designer: Wallace Roberts & Todd, et al) – A renovated public arts focused campus that incorporates the city’s old steel works.


• Tamar Development Project, Hong Kong, China (Developer: Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, HKSAR Government; Designer: Rocco Design Architects Ltd.) – An intricate complex facility that incorporates various government buildings along the city’s water front and harbor.


• The Brewery Blocks, Portland, OR, USA (Developer: Gerding Edlen; Designer: GBD Architects Incorporated) – A sustainable mixed-use urban community that renovated and created a neighborhood in a deteriorating warehouse district.


• The Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA, USA (Developer: Wilson Meany; Designer: EHDD Architecture) – An environmentally friendly development project on a historical site that now houses an internationally renowned museum of science.


• Tjuvholmen, Oslo Norway (Developer: Tjuvholmen KS/AS; Designer: HRTB AS Arkitekter Mnal, et al) – A new development project that renovates and recovers the city’s waterfront.


• Zuellig Building, Makati City, Philippines (Developer: Bridgebury Realty Corporation; Designer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, et al) – A sustainable, office development designed as rental property for multi-tenant use.

Jurors for the 2014 ULI Awards for excellence were chair M. Leanne Lachman, president of real estate consulting firm Lachman Associates in New York, N.Y.; Glenn Aaronson, managing partner, Aevitas Property Partners; chairman, Forum Turkey Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands; William Bonstra, partner, Bonstra Haresign Architects, Washington, D.C.; Terrall Budge, principal and owner, Loci, Salt Lake City, Utah; Michael Covarrubias, chairman and chief executive officer, TMG Partners, San Francisco, Calif.; David Dixon, urban design leader, Stantec Consulting, Ltd., Boston, Mass.; Dr. Sujata S. Govada, managing director, UDP International, Hyderabad, India; Jason Hellendrung, principal, Sasaki Associates, Watertown, Mass.; Jeff Kingsbury, managing principal, Greenstreet Ltd., Indianapolis, Ind.; Jacinta McCann, executive vice president, AECOM, San Francisco, Calif.; Steve Navarro, executive vice president, President and CEO, the Furman Co, Greenville, S.C.; and Trini M. Rodriguez, principal, Parker Rodriguez, Inc., Alexandria, Va.

For more information on the Urban Land Institute and its Award for Excellence program visit uli.org.

FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest at SteelStacks Attracts Over 35,000 Fans

June 23, 2014

BETHLEHEM, PA–They came from near and far to cheer on the home team, filling the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem to capacity as chants of ‘U.S.A.’ echoed throughout the old Bethlehem Steel mill. When all was said and done, more than 10,000 people showed up to support the U.S.A. Men’s National Soccer Team during its huge match against Portugal, pushing attendance at the inaugural FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest and Viewing Party at SteelStacks to more than 35,000 guests.

Designed to bring diverse communities together in a celebration of the World’s Game, the FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest and Viewing Party featured two long weekends, June 12-16 and 19-22, filled with soccer programming, activities and family fun, plus all the FIFA World Cup Brazil™ action shown on a giant outdoor LED screen on SteelStacks’ Air Products Town Square. Among the highlights of the festival were a visit from ESPN for live look-ins during the U.S. vs. Ghana match June 16, a free Philadelphia Union street soccer clinic for more than 300 children June 14, and two Soccer Clinics for Children with Disabilities presented by Good Shepherd Pediatrics and Lehigh Valley United on June 20. The two largest crowds that came out to watch the games on the giant screen were for the U.S.A’s first two matches in the World’s Cup’s opening round, with more than 8,000 attending for the U.S. vs. Ghana game, and 10,000 coming together for the U.S. vs. Portugal match.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the incredible response to the FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest and Viewing Party,” says Discover Lehigh Valley President Michael Stershic. “Fans from all over came to the SteelStacks campus to cheer on the U.S.A. Soccer Team and/or the team from their own home country. The live “look-ins” by ESPN and the reaction shots shown many times during coverage of the World Cup provided bonus exposure for the Lehigh Valley. Many of these fans were from outside of the area and brought a different market segment to Lehigh Valley and SteelStacks. The excitement that SoccerFest generated for Bethlehem in particular was amazing. We look forward to watching this event thrive for years to come.” While the FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest has officially ended, the soccer celebration at SteelStacks will continue since fans can watch all the action from Brazil on SteelStacks’ two other outdoor screens. Starting tomorrow, the arts and cultural campus will show all the remaining World Cup matches including the huge U.S.A. vs. Germany match June 26, noon, on the Levitt Pavilion’s outdoor screen, as well as the PBS Public Media & Education Center’s outdoor screen. Guests coming out to enjoy the matches will also be able to purchase food and beverages from the Levitt Pavilion’s Mack Café by Rodale Catering and the ArtsQuest Center’s Mike & Ike Bistro.

“SteelStacks was designed to be a community gathering place that would bring our region together throughout the year for unique occasions and special events,” says Curt Mosel, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for ArtsQuest, the nonprofit arts organization serving as the host for the SoccerFest and Viewing Party at SteelStacks. “The World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world, uniting all of the countries and cultures in celebration. Over the past 11 days, we’ve definitely seen this at SteelStacks, with the members of our diverse community coming together to watch the matches, cheer on their teams and celebrate every big moment along the way.

“We thank all of the programming partners, sponsors, volunteers, ArtsQuest staff and, of course, the fans who have come out to make this event such a huge success. The support and the crowds have definitely exceeded expectations.”

The FIFA World Cup™ SoccerFest and Viewing Party was made possible through a partnership between Discover Lehigh Valley, The Philadelphia Union, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, Lehigh Valley United, Lehigh Valley Youth Soccer League, PBS39, Spark and ArtsQuest. Supporters helping to make the event possible include Air Products, Men’s Health, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, The Outlets at the Sands Bethlehem, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Lehigh Valley and Christmas City Printing, as well as media partners Adams Outdoor, B104, WLEV, La Ola Radio and Service Electric Cable TV & Communications.

For more information on the SoccerFest and the remaining World Cup viewing schedule, visit www.lvsoccerfest.com.

About SteelStacks
SteelStacks is an arts and cultural campus located on the site of Bethlehem, Pa.’s former Bethlehem Steel plant. Through a unique public-private partnership, this industrial site, one of the largest Brownfields under redevelopment in the nation, has been transformed into a dynamic destination for music, art, festivals and cultural events throughout the year. Public and nonprofit partners working together to bring new life to the former steel mill include the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Area School District, Northampton County, ArtsQuest and PBS39. For more information on SteelStacks, visit www.steelstacks.org.