DAYTON ARTISTS TAKE FLIGHT AT
RIFFE GALLERY

Jean Koeller, Untitled (detail), 2000, oil on canvas, 36x28 inches

Imagining Flight: Explorations by Dayton Artists will be on view at the OAC's Riffe Gallery July 24 through October 19, 2003. The exhibition includes 39 works by 12 Dayton-area artists inspired by the concept of flight. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, July 24, from 5-7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Curated by Kay Koeninger, Imagining Flight celebrates the centennial of Orville and Wilbur Wright's remarkable achievement. The legacy of Dayton's Wright Brothers is evident in the western Ohio city even today. As a result, the artists in the exhibition take highly personal approaches to the theme of flight, employing a wide range of inspiration and media, including painting, drawing, bookmaking, fiber art, sculpture and performance.

The artists in Imagining Flight are: Mary Borkowski, Will Davis, Diane Fitch, Anne Hubler, Katherine Kadish, Ron Kaplan, Jean Koeller, Ray Must, Yasue Sakaoka, Andy Snow, Diane Stemper and Jud Yalkut.

Two free public events will be held in conjunction with this exhibition:
• Thursday, July 24, 2003, 4:30-5 p.m. Exhibition Tour with Kay Koeninger.
• Sunday, September 28, 2003, 2-4 p.m. Imagining Kites! Family Day at the Riffe Gallery.

For more information call 614/644-9624 or visit www.riffegallery.org.

STATE BUDGETS
AND THE ARTS

The budgetary situation with which state legislators across the United States are contending is bleak. State arts agencies have not escaped the impacts of the crisis and in some cases the impacts have been devastating. Fortunately, eliminating or radically reducing state arts agency budgets is an extreme action falling outside the norm, according to research conducted by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). There are a number of reasons for this.

According to NASAA, 97 million Americans make arts a part of their lives and state and national opinion polls repeatedly show that the nation's residents support the investment of tax dollars in the arts. Business executives and education leaders recognize the value of the arts too.

Cutting state arts agency (SAA) budgets will not resolve any state budget shortfall. SAA budgets represent less than one tenth of one percent of all state spending. Yet the return on the investment is enormous, with residents benefiting from healthy communities and participation opportunities catalyzed by a strong state arts agency. (Con't on page 3)