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National Council on the Arts Convenes for 165th MeetingOctober 28, 2008
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, October 31 in Room M-09 of The Nancy Hanks Center, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. This session will be Chairman Dana Gioia’s final meeting with the Council. In January 2009, he will leave the NEA to return to writing, his primary occupation prior to leading the agency. He will also join the Aspen Institute on a half-time basis as the first director of the Harman/Eisner (H/E) Program in the Arts. Under Gioia's chairmanship, the NEA has effectively democratized its programs and services, maintaining the highest artistic and educational standards while achieving unprecedented outreach to millions of Americans. Gioia has made arts education central to the agency's mission, creating many programs that combine the presentation of arts with arts education to foster the next generation of artists, audiences, and patrons. At the meeting, Chairman Gioia will provide an overview of the NEA’s accomplishments during his tenure. In addition, the meeting will feature three presentations from guest artists who have participated in several of the NEA's signature programs. These include a reading by distinguished poet and NEA Literature Fellowship recipient David Lehman; a performance by Aquila Theatre Company of New York, a regular grantee of the NEA’s Shakespeare in American Communities initiative; and a jazz performance by acclaimed pianist and educator, Helen Sung. The complete meeting schedule is as follows:
The National Council 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 including 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.endow.gov/about/NCA/About_NCA.html. About the National Endowment for the Arts 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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