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National Endowment for the Arts Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Two-Day Symposium

 

Contact:
Victoria Hutter
202-682-5692
hutterv@arts.gov

May 10, 2006

Washington, D.C. - The highlight of the National Endowment for the Arts 40th anniversary observances will be a symposium May 18 and 19 titled "The National Endowment for the Arts: 40 Years of Leadership in the Arts." A reception and performance are scheduled for the evening of May 17. Events take place at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University. It will examine the impact of the NEA on the different arts disciplines, the state of those disciplines now, future trends in arts funding, and the status of international cultural exchange programs.

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia said, "A milestone such as our fortieth anniversary calls for both reflection and celebration. It is a chance to look back at all the NEA has accomplished to support our country's extraordinary artistic creativity and to connect the arts and arts education programs to citizens everywhere. Bringing together NEA staff, arts experts, students and arts enthusiasts for an event like this will encourage dynamic conversations and yield new perspectives for the NEA's next 40 years."

The main feature of the symposium will be a series of panels. On Thursday the 18th those panels will be conducted by NEA discipline directors and arts experts and will explore how NEA support has made a difference to the development of each discipline and what issues and challenges those fields currently face. On Friday, a panel on international cultural exchange and one on arts philanthropy will examine those fields and their future development.

Chairman Gioia will offer opening remarks and the keynote address on Thursday morning. In addition, an NEA film festival, presentations of student papers, and a performance by the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists will be part of the proceedings. Please see the following page for the schedule and list of participants.

All symposium sessions except the performance and film festival take place at the recently-opened Katzen Arts Center. The center brings all the visual and performing arts programs at American University into one 130,000 square-foot space. Designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts, the Katzen includes the three-story American University Museum, the Abramson Family Recital Hall, the Studio Theater and Dance Studio, an electronics studio, nearly 20 practice rooms, new rehearsal and recital halls, and classrooms.

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.

Symposium Schedule

Wednesday, May 17

5:00 p.m.

Registration

 

6:00 p.m.

Reception

 

7:30 p.m.

Chairman Gioia welcome and performance by Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program

Thursday, May 18

 

 

9:00 a.m.

Opening remarks by Cornelius M. Kerwin, interim president of American University and keynote speech by Chairman Gioia

10:15- 11:15 a.m.
3:15- 4:15 p.m.

Each panel discussion will be held once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Discipline Panel

NEA Director

Guest Speaker

Theater

Mario Garcia Durham

Roche Schulfer, executive director, Goodman Theatre

Design

Jeff Speck

Hugh Hardy, founder and principal of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture

Music

Wayne Brown

Henry Fogel, president and CEO, American Symphony Orchestra League

Media Arts

Ted Libbey

Jac Venza, executive producer, Great Performances

Folk

Barry Bergey

Dan Sheehy, curator and director, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

State, regional, and local arts organizations

John Ostrout

Patrice Walker Powell

Mona Abadir, COO of the Honu Group, a real estate development company
Diane Mataraza, community development consultant
Suzette Surkamer, executive director, South Carolina Arts Commission

Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading

Mark Bauerlein

Laurie Brooks, Senior Program Officer for State Libraries, Institute of Museum and Library Services

11:30 – 12:30 a.m.
4:30- 5:30 p.m.

Each panel discussion will be held once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Museums
/Visual Arts

Bob Frankel

Mimi Gardner Gates, director, Seattle Art Museum

Dance

Doug Sonntag

Rachel Moore, executive director, American Ballet Theater

Literature

David Kipen

Jonathan Franzen, novelist and essayist

Opera

Wayne Brown

Marc Scorca, president and CEO, Opera America

Presenting/
Multidisciplinary

Mario Garcia Durham

Stephanie Hughley, executive producer, National Black Arts Festival

Arts education

Sarah Cunningham

Warren Newman, owner and consultant for Livewire Arts

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

NEA Film Festival

Friday, May 19

 

 

9:00 a.m.

International Cultural Exchange Panel

 

Moderator: Philip Kennicott, culture critic, Washington Post

Guest speakers: Frank Hodsoll, consultant on federal management and policy and former NEA chairman

Michael Kaiser, president, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Peter Marzio, director, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

10:00 a.m.

Philanthropy Panel

 

Moderator: Felicia Knight, NEA director of communications

Guest speakers: Susan Coliton, senior director, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director, Mid America Arts Alliance

11:15 a.m.

Presentation of Student Papers

 


Please see the biographies of syposium panelists.


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