Children at Cleveland's Harvey Rice Elementary School participated in a unique art project designed by Angelica Pozo as part of an Ohio Arts Council plan to ensure that students in the state's urban centers and Appalachian counties have more opportunities to work with professional artists. Last spring, the students painted a 6-by-12-foot mural of their school's neighborhood. Through the project, they learned about people who live and work in their community, and developed the skills necessary to create a large painting. "They know where the McDonald's is, but they may not know what's on the other blocks," says Pozo. "I work with them to plan it out and do the research. There's an involved thought process." The school is at Buckeye Road and East 116th Street. The mural parameters include Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, St. Luke's Hospital, Luke Easter Park and Shaker Boulevard.

The Ohio Arts Council, which funded most of this project in Northeast Ohio, recommended Pozo. She is one of 10 artists working with the OAC to bring different forms of art and design to under-funded elementary public schools. Maria Restrepo-Hamilton, coordinator of cultural arts for the Cleveland Municipal School District, has been involved in the project. "She has been a wonderful resource and tremendous advocate for the students of Cleveland," according to Mary Campbell-Zopf, OAC Arts in Education Program director. For more information contact Mary Campbell-Zopf at 614/466-2613 or Maria Restrepo-Hamilton at 216/574-8635.

OHIO ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HOST THREE LATVIAN ARTISTS

The Ohio Arts Council's International Program will bring three Latvian artists to our state this fall to take part in residencies at Cleveland State University, Thurber House and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus. Miervaldis Polis, a visual and performance artist, will be at the Cleveland State University Department of Art in November to perform and present guest lectures to students and the public. Writer Liana Boka will be at the Thurber House in late October and early November to participate in writing seminars and learn more about the administration of a literary center. Kristaps Gelzis, a graphic and installation artist, will be at the Wexner Center for the Arts from mid-October to late November to take part in discussions with marketing and communications staff, interact with local community members and artists and discuss his work in a public presentation. The goal of each residency is to create opportunities for the artists to exchange ideas, perspectives and techniques with the host institution. Artists will have opportunities to work with equipment and technology not available to them in their home country.