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FIVE
SITES TO EXPAND SOAR RESEARCH AND PROMOTE ARTS PARTICIPATION
Greater
Columbus Arts Council will use START funds to assess arts education initiatives
such as their Children of the Future Program, which unites artists with
Columbus' kids.
In April 2001, the Ohio Arts Council received a three-year, $1.1 million
grant from the Wallace-Reader¹s Digest Funds as part of a new State
Arts Partnerships for Cultural Participation (START) initiative. With
these funds, the OAC plans to develop and strengthen programs based on
the findings of its State of the Arts Report.
In addition to restructuring its own programs, the OAC will allocate START
funds to five regional sites in Ohio. Arts organizations selected for
participation are Arts Council Lake Erie West, Toledo; Community Partnership
for Arts and Culture, Cleveland; Greater Columbus Arts Council, Columbus;
Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton; and Southern Ohio Museum and
Cultural Center, Portsmouth. "The Ohio Arts Council is pleased to
be working with five outstanding local arts organizations to implement
the State of the Arts Report," said Wayne Lawson, executive
director of the Ohio Arts Council. "These sites will be essential
for developing strategies to increase arts and cultural participation
in Ohio."
- Arts
Council Lake Erie West (Toledo) will receive $30,000 over two years
to develop the Northwest Ohio Network of Culture and the Arts, which
will expand on the success of the Black Swamp Rural Arts Initiative.
The NCA will serve the Northwest Ohio region by creating a network of
arts and cultural entities, while centralizing advocacy activities.
- Community
Partnership for Arts and Culture (Cleveland) will receive $144,000 over
two years to develop a web-based
system to examine the strengths and weaknesses of arts organizations
in the areas of strategic planning, human resources, governance, financial
management, communications and information technology.
- The
Greater Columbus Arts Council will receive $104,000 over two years to
conduct an 18-month assessment of arts education offerings in Central
Ohio. The project also will create a new grant program for small arts
and education-based nonprofit organizations.
- The
Fitton Center for Creative Arts (Hamilton) will receive $10,000 for
one year to analyze data gathered through community conversations as
part of the Hamilton Community Development Initiative. The project will
also include additional meetings to discuss future project plans.
- Southern
Ohio Museum and Cultural Center (Portsmouth) will receive $27,000 for
a one-year project that will address children¹s issues revealed
through Portsmouth¹s Community Development Initiative. The goal
is to create a community-wide plan that outlines programs and services
for youth in the Scioto County/Portsmouth area and to develop stronger
partnerships between SOMCC and local schools.
For
more than a decade, the Wallace-Reader¹s Digest Funds have invested
in leading cultural groups across the country to make the arts an active
part of people¹s everyday lives.
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BUSH
SIGNS LONG-AWAITED EDUCATION ACT; ARTS EDUCATION WINS SUPPORT
On
January 8, President George Bush visited Hamilton to sign H.R. 1, "No
Child Left Behind." The new statute, which Bush hailed as "a
new era in public education," is widely viewed as the most significant
revision of federal education policy since the enactment of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act in 1965 and marks an important victory for
arts learning.
The bill defines the arts as a core academic subject in elementary and
secondary education along with English, reading, math, science, foreign
languages, civics, economics, history and geography. As a result, the
arts may be eligible to receive federal funds whenever national education
programs such as teacher training, school reform and technology are targeted
at the core academic subjects.
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