| ATCO WORKSHOP CLIENTS CREATE ART | SENATE PASSES FUNDING BILL WITH ARTS INCREASE |
 Passion Works artists Debbie Kesterson, David Dewey, Carolyn Williams and Nancy Dick display Flora Giganticus sculpture made from recycled metal |
The U.S. Senate passed the FY2000 Interior Appropriations Bill on September 23. The measure includes a $5-million increase for the National Endowment for the Arts and a $5-million increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities, bringing the NEA to a proposed funding level of $103 million and NEH to $115.7 million. On September 27, the measure was sent to a House-Senate conference committee, which began to reconcile the Senate's proposed increases with level funding for the NEA and NEH contained in the bill passed by the House. Advocates are urging the House conferees to agree with the Senate's funding levels for the NEA and NEH. |
| The ATCO sheltered
workshop in Athens is buzzing with activity. Gigantic, flower-like sculptures with curly
wire stamens hang from studio walls. Huge, freshly painted, green papier-mbchi stems
sprout from the floor. Pens, pencils and markers scratch and squeak as artists churn out
drawings. The studio is called Passion Works. The artists are adults with mental
retardation or developmental disabilities. Patty Mitchell, a professional photographer, has been working with ATCO clients as an artist in residence in the Ohio Arts Council's Arts in Education Program. Mitchell brings in other artists and community members |
to
help ATCO clients create the pieces. The program focuses on the abilities of the clients
and on making art through their individual strengths. If someone has a passion for making
circles, Mitchell finds the medium that best suits that person's skill. "My
responsibility is to provide appropriate and professional materials that will best
represent their talents," Mitchell says. "They give me beautiful images, and I
have to figure out how to present them." Through this collaboration, Mitchell is
helping people who are largely neglected by society express themselves. Ed, a very quiet and introverted |
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 Celebrate National Arts and Humanties Month Public Art for Columbus Hilltop Students Bring Art to Neighborhood Send US A Winner -
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