Students from 10 Ohio High Schools Chosen to Participate in Arts Day 2008
by Jaclyn Reynolds
In an effort to educate young people about the legislative process, Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation, with the help of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, invited high schools from around Ohio to participate in Arts Day 2008. Arts Day, co-presented annually by Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, offers opportunities for citizens to express their support of public funding for the arts to state legislators.
Schools selected to participate in Arts Day 2008 are Arcadia High School, Arcadia; Centennial High School, Columbus; Central Crossing High School, Grove City; Lima High School, Lima; New Philadelphia High School, New Philadelphia; Options Academy – The Arts, Hamilton; Princeton High School, Cincinnati; Taft Information Technology High School, Cincinnati; West High School, Columbus; and Wilmington High School, Wilmington. More than 60 high schools expressed interest in the event.
Each high school will choose six students to participate in the event based on their ability to be successful student advocates. Advocates must have an interest in the arts and the legislative process, an ability to speak in public with individuals or small groups and willingness to follow through with written assignments.
Prior to Arts Day, each participating school will host a state legislator who will share information regarding the state government process and receive information on the school’s arts and civics programs. On Arts Day, April 16, the student advocates will travel to Columbus to spend the morning speaking with legislators about the impact the arts have had on their lives. In the afternoon, they will attend the 2008 Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio and Arts Day Luncheon.
For more information about the legislative school visits and Arts Day meetings please contact Donna Collins at Ohio Citizens for the Arts, 614/221-4064.
Arts Day takes place in conjunction with the Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio. Seven winners have been chosen in six categories from more than 69 nominations.
The Governor’s Awards for the Arts are given annually to Ohio individuals and organizations in recognition of outstanding contributions to the arts statewide, regionally and nationally. This year’s ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 16 in conjunction with the Arts Day Luncheon at the Columbus Athenaeum, 32 North Fourth Street, downtown Columbus. Cost of the lunch is $50 and includes a dessert reception. To register for the event visit www.oac.state.oh.us.
Award categories and recipients include: Arts Administration, Marcie Goodman, Cleveland International Film Festival, (Cleveland); Arts in Education, Michael Huffman, Lima City Schools (Lima); Arts Patron, Susan Reams (Perrysburg); Business Support of the Arts, Limited Brands (Columbus); Community Development & Participation, Dr. Catherine Roma, MUSE, Cincinnati Women’s Choir, Umoja Men’s Chorus and Voices Of Freedom Choir (Cincinnati); Individual Artists, Dr. Burton Beerman, composer/musician (Bowling Green) and Steve Free, singer/songwriter (McDermott).
The awards ceremony, hosted by the Ohio Arts Council and Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation, honors award recipients and members of the Ohio Legislature for their support of public funding for the arts.
The 2008 Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio and Arts Day Luncheon are presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Ohio Government Telecommunications. Media sponsors include The Blade, Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, Ohio Magazine, Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association, The Plain Dealer and Time Warner Cable.
More information about the Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio, including a full list of winners, past and present, is available on the Ohio Arts Council Web site at www.oac.state.oh.us.
Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation provides education about the arts in Ohio and educates citizens about ways to participate effectively in their government. The OCA Foundation partners with the Ohio Arts Council in the annual presentation of Arts Day and the Governor Arts Awards for the Arts ceremony.
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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