By GREGORY ZELLER //
One of Long Island’s largest economic drivers has shown a little love, once again, with a unique Philadelphia experiment.
Canon Solutions America – a wholly owned subsidiary of Melville-based Canon U.S.A., itself a subsidiary of Japanese multinational imaging giant Canon – has sponsored the printing of the 10th Anthology edition to come out of Writers Room Drexel, a community-outreach literary arts program run by Drexel University.
The annual Writers Room Anthology includes works from TRIPOD, an intergenerational residency/storytelling program that invites students from Drexel, Paul Robeson High School and the YouthBuild Philly charter school – all based in Philadelphia – to collaborate with older community residents on writing and photography projects documenting life in the City of Brotherly Love.
Peter Kowalczuk: Milestone maker.
The latest edition of the Anthology series was printed by Virginia-based high-tech printing specialist Copy General using the Canon varioPRINT iX3200, a state-of-the-art commercial-grade inkjet digital press.
Helping the TRIPOD program reach “a major milestone with the 10th Anthology” is a proud moment for Canon Solutions America, according to Peter Kowalczuk, the subsidiary’s president.
“TRIPOD at Writers Room remains an important outlet for students from grade school to higher education to hone their skills as storytellers and to be supported in their efforts to learn and express their knowledge of their city’s vibrant history and culture,” Kowalczuk said.
The 10th iteration marks the seventh straight year that Canon equipment was used in the production of Writers Room Drexel’s annual anthology. TRIPOD at Writers Room dates back to in 2014, when it launched as a free, community-based collaborative effort; Canon Solutions America became involved in 2017, when company and Drexel University leaders first discussed opportunities to work together to push the program’s artistic envelope.
Rachel Wenrick: Unique contributions.
In addition to focusing Drexel students and regional high schoolers on the Writers Room Drexel project, the Melville-headquartered corporation has invited Philadelphia-area students into Canon Solutions America’s Future Authors Project, which launched in 2006 in collaboration with the Florida-based School District of Palm Beach County and in 2017 grew to include students from Long Island’s Jericho Union Free School District.
Writers Room Founding Director Rachel Wenrick, the executive director for arts and civic innovation in Drexel’s Office of University & Community Partnerships, praised Canon Solutions America for supporting the Drexel programs, embracing the cause and effect of the Writers Room and TRIPOD efforts and helping to bring their unique annual publications to fruition.
“Canon was one of Writers Room’s early supporters,” Wenrick said in a statement. “They saw how all of our storytellers, whether they are 18 or 81, enter the program as both student and teacher, valued for the unique contributions they bring.”
Encouraging those unique contributions, and sharing them with larger audiences, is an excellent philanthropical use of Canon’s cutting-edge technological savvy, according to Kowalczuk.
And it’s a true honor, the Canon Solutions America president added.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Drexel for future exhibitions,” Kowalczuk said.
