Rep. Chris Chocola Hosts National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia at Workshop for South Bend Area Nonprofit Arts Organizations

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

October 14, 2003

Washington, DC -- U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola of Indiana's Second District and Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will host a special workshop today for South Bend area nonprofit arts and community organizations as part of the agency's outreach to Indiana. 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 10:30 a.m. at Notre Dame Downtown, located at 217 S. Michigan Street. Eileen B. Mason, the Endowment's Senior Deputy Chairman, and Jan Stunkard, Division Coordinator, will lead the session.

A news conference will precede the workshop at 10:00 a.m. in the arts center. Speakers will be Congressman Chocola; Chairman Gioia; Monica Peterson, Community Development Specialist for the Indiana Arts Commission; and John A. Haynes, Executive Director of the Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Notre Dame.

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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