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U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush Hosts Arts Endowment's Eileen B. Mason at Workshop for Chicago Area Nonprofit Arts Organizations

Arts and Community Groups Convene To Learn More About NEA Grant Process

January 29, 2004

 

Contact:
Christy Crytzer
NEA
202-682-5570
William Marshall, Jr.
773-224-6500
202-225-8877 (cell)  

Washington, DC -- U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush of Illinois's First District and Eileen B. Mason, Senior Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will host a special workshop today for Chicago area nonprofit arts and community organizations as part of the agency's outreach to Illinois. The workshop will inform leaders of these organizations about federal arts funding opportunities and encourage them to apply for Arts Endowment grants.

The free workshop begins at 11:00 a.m. at the DuSable Museum of African American History, located at 740 East 56th Place. Ms. Mason and Gigi Bolt, Director of Musical Theater and Theater, will lead the session.

A news conference at the museum will precede the workshop at 10:30 a.m. Speakers will be Congressman Rush; Ms. Mason; Richard C. Carlson, Acting Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Council; MaryE Young, Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; and Antoinette D. Wright, President and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History.

The workshop will include a discussion of federal funding opportunities for projects that:

  • provide hands-on learning in the arts for children and youth (pre-K to Grade 12) in schools, arts organizations and community centers;

  • help preserve cultural traditions through documentation, publications, exhibits, apprenticeships and conservation;

  • provide access to the arts in underserved communities; and

  • involve the creation or presentation of works of art, including performances, exhibitions, and festivals.

The National Endowment for the Arts exists to foster, preserve and promote excellence in the arts, to bring art to all Americans and to provide leadership in arts education. It is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts and each year awards more than 2,200 matching grants to nonprofit organizations nationwide, including school districts, faith-based and community groups, performing arts organizations, galleries, and museums.


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