OHIO ARTIST TRAVELS TO INDIA FOR ARTS EDUCATION RESIDENCY

With support from the Ohio Arts Council's International Program, Ohio artist Gretchen Cochran participated in a three-week residency as an individual artist and arts educator at the Sanskriti Kendra in India in December. The Sanskriti Foundation, an Indian cultural organization formed in 1979, strives to cultivate an environment for the preservation and promotion of artistic and cultural resources of the entire world. The Sanskriti Kendra was set up in 1993 as a retreat for creative minds from around the world.

During the residency, English-speaking Indian children worked with Cochran in a 3-hour combined gallery visit and studio workshop. They used egg tempera to create their own responses to tribal wall murals. "I feel strongly about children studying in a studio-based environment," Cochran said. The children looked carefully at works of art, talked about the art, then created their own work. The Indian children explained that their daily educational experiences involved reading books and taking tests, so the interactive approach taken by Cochran was a treat for them.

The Kendra residency program has hosted more than 100 artists, music composers, scholars and writers from Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the Kendra has held symposia, workshops and public events. For more information about the Ohio Arts Council's International Program call 614/466-2613.

A $185-million competition for after-school grants through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program will allow schools to stay open longer hours to provide learning opportunities for children and adults. The program offers youth tutoring and homework help, recreational and cultural enrichment opportunities, technology education, drug and violence prevention counseling and services for youth with disabilities.

The competition is expected to support as many as 2,000 new centers in nearly 500 communities in the next school year. About $200 million will fund schools already in the program. Applications must come from school districts and be written in partnership with a community-based organization. Deadline for school districts to apply for the new grants is March 20.

For more information and application forms visit the U.S. Department of Education site www.ed.gov/21stcclc or call Howard Spector, vice president of education, 202/371-2830.