FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2008

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343
or Rob Watson, Communications Coordinator 617-727-3668 x268

MASS. CULTURAL COUNCIL CONTINUES STATEWIDE CREATIVE MINDS TOUR
Events Statewide Highlight Importance of Arts Education & Creative Learning

Boston, MA—The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) continues its statewide Creative Minds tour with new events in April and May that highlight the importance of arts education and creative learning for young people in school and beyond. Events include:

• Emergence in downtown New Bedford, Thursday, April 10 from 5-9 p.m. This community event is sponsored by AHA! New Bedford and will feature musical performances and more than 2,000 artworks created by New Bedford public school students. State Senator Mark Montigny and State Representative Antonio Cabral will attend, along with New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and MCC Executive Director Anita Walker. For details go to www.ahanewbedford.org.


• Celebration of Ancient Greece at the JFK Middle School in Northampton, Friday, April 11 at 10:30 a.m. This student showcase, supported through an MCC Creative Schools grant, is the culmination of a classroom residency with artist Nick Kachulis that uses stories, art, music, dance, and drama to teach ancient Greek mythology, history, and culture to middle-schoolers. State Senator Stan Rosenberg of Amherst and Representative Peter Kocot of Northampton will attend.


• Creative Career Pathways at the Worcester Center for Crafts Friday, April 25 at 10 a.m. Through its Teen Apprentice Program, the Worcester Center for Crafts helps young people develop workforce skills that will help them succeed in a new economy. MCC will be joined by Worcester State Senators Edward Augustus and Harriette Chandler for a tour and roundtable discussion. For more on the WCC and the Teen Apprentice Program go to www.worcestercraftcenter.org.


• Arts Education Benefit Concert featuring acclaimed performer and teacher Livingston Taylor at the Melrose Center for the Performing Arts Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. The newly built performing arts center is part of the Melrose Middle School, and proceeds from this concert will benefit Melrose SchoolSmarts, an advocacy group working to support the arts in the schools and community. For details go to schoolsmarts.squarespace.com.


• LET'S GLOW!!, the 2008 performance of Express Yourself, Thursday, May 22 at 6:45 p.m. at the Citi Wang Theatre in Boston. Express Yourself Inc. celebrates the power of creative arts and changes the lives of underserved youth in the community and in residential treatment facilities. Express Yourself is the 2007 winner of the Commonwealth Award for Education. For more information go to www.expressyourselfinc.org.


• Making the Case for Arts Education: Research, Advocacy & Policy. This institute takes place Thursday, May 29 at Lesley University, Cambridge. It is designed to provide recent research on arts learning, present a range of advocacy tools to suit different purposes, and guide participants in creating an arts education advocacy plan that meets their personal, institutional, and/or community needs. Featured presenters include Paul Reville, Massachusetts Secretary of Education; Lois Hetland from Mass. College of Art & Design and Harvard University’s Project Zero; Jessica Hoffman Davis, founder of Harvard’s arts education program; and the MCC’s Anita Walker. For details go to www.artslearning.org.

New research confirms that kids across America are missing out on the arts. Recent data from the Center on Education Policy shows that art and music instruction has declined by 35% in a significant number of schools since the federal No Child Left Behind Act became law in 2002. In these schools, an average of nearly an hour of arts instruction per week has disappeared.

“Creativity and innovation are vital skills for our young people as they prepare to meet the challenges of adulthood and a global economy,” said MCC Executive Director Anita Walker. “But we know that too many schools are not fostering those skills. In some communities, children have no opportunity to experience the arts. We want to draw attention to those schools and communities where exciting things are happening to show what’s possible when we make a commitment to fostering creative minds.”

The MCC recently launched a newly redesigned online source for arts education and creative learning to coincide with this initiative.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the state’s economic vitality.

MCC is a state agency committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.