National Endowment for the Arts  
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National Council on the Arts Convenes for 161st Meeting

 

Contact:
Sally Gifford
682-5606
giffords@arts.gov

July 10, 2007

Washington, D.C. -- The National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will meet in a public session on Friday, July 13 in Room M-09 of The Nancy Hanks Center, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. The public session will include a musical tribute to the late Mstislav Rostropovich, renowned cellist and conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra. Attorney and arts patron Stephen Porter of the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP will be sworn in as a new Council member. Washington, DC resident Amanda Fernandez, who recently received the title of 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion, will reprise her recitation of "Ma Rainey" by Sterling A. Brown.

The public session will showcase the work of the Regional Arts Organizations. These six non-profits, funded by the NEA, encourage development of the arts and support regional arts programs. Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Executive Director Alan W. Cooper will moderate a panel of artists and arts administrators who will discuss areas of programmatic focus for Regional Arts Organizations, including access, creative development, and services. The four guest panelists are choreographer Ronald K. Brown of Evidence Dance Company in New York City; Janet Cowperthwaite, Managing Director of the Kronos Quartet in San Francisco, California; Shannon Daut, Associate Director of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) in Denver, Colorado; and Scott Perkins, Curator of the Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Meeting Schedule:

9:00-9:30 a.m.

Chairman’s opening remarks, to include a musical tribute to Mstislav Rostropovich, a recitation by 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Champion Amanda Fernandez, and the introduction of new NCA member Stephen Porter

9:30-9:45 a.m.

Update from Office of Government Affairs

9:45-10:00 a.m.

Operation Homecoming update with anthology editor Andrew Carroll and Beyond Glory playwright and actor Stephen Lang

10:00-10:15 a.m.

BREAK

10:15-11:15 a.m.

Panel discussion on Regional Arts Organizations

11:15-11:30 a.m.

Application Review and Voting

11:30-11:45 p.m.

Guidelines Review and Voting

11:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

General Discussion and Adjournment


The National Council on the Arts on the Arts advises the Chairman of the NEA, who also chairs the Council, on agency policies and programs. Members of the Council are Presidential appointments and are selected for their widely recognized knowledge of the arts or their expertise or profound interest in the arts. There are 14 members in addition to the Chairman and six ex-officio members from Congress. More information about the National Council on the Arts and its members can be found at www.arts.gov/about/NCA/About_NCA.html.

The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts -- both new and established -- bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.


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