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Chairman Rocco Landesman Releases the Schedule for his Visit to Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for September 15-17, 2010

Includes keynote address at launch of university's Year of the Arts

September 9, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY

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

Washington, DC -- NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 16 and 17, 2010. Chairman Landesman is coming to Wisconsin at the invitation of University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin and Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee President and Executive Director Christine Harris. He is traveling to the state to learn how the arts work in Wisconsin with a particular focus on the role of the arts in creating and sustaining livable, vibrant urban and rural centers.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the chairman's alma mater, he will speak at the launch and luncheon for the university's Illuminate: Year of the Arts, a full-year's celebration of the power and purpose of the arts. From September 2010 to August 2011, the university has planned more than 300 performances, exhibitions, symposia, publications, and other activities. 

In addition to giving the speech on the 16th and a panel discussion on the 17th, the chairman will meet with those involved in projects supported by the NEA's Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative or MICD25. The inaugural grants for this program were announced on July 15, 2010. The City of Madison and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee are two of only 21organizations nationwide to receive these grants.

In Madison's MICD25-funded project, environmental artist Lorna Jacobs will be commissioned to create a work for the new Central Park. In Milwaukee, the Cultural Alliance is leading Creativity Works!, a creative economy project, and the MICD25 grant will support Phase II of its development.

The following events are open to the press only.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Madison, Wisconsin

9:30 a.m.

  

Tour of MICD 25 project site of Central Park with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz
Location: Leaving from City Hall

11:00 p.m. 

  

Stop for a PlazaBurger
Location: Plaza Tavern, 319 North Henry Street

12:00 p.m. 

  

Remarks to kick-off Year of the Arts with Chancellor Carolyn "Biddy" Martin
Location: Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon Street

12:30 p.m.


1:20-1:40 p.m. 

 

Year of the Arts luncheon
Location: Memorial Union, Great Hall, 800 Langdon Street
Chairman's remarks at the luncheon

2:30 p.m.

 

Informal meeting with University of Wisconsin theatre students
Location: University of Wisconsin campus

5:00 p.m.

 

Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin Economic Development Association reception
Location: Electronic Theatre Controls, 3031 Pleasant View Rd, Middleton


FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

10:30—11:45 a.m        

  

Panel Discussion: "The Role of the Creative Industries in Community and Economic Development"
Location: Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 Art Museum Drive in the gallery outside the Lubar Auditorium

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

            

 

Tour of Artist-in-Residence studio at the Pfister Hotel
Location: 424 East Wisconsin Avenue

Media must RSVP to Victoria Hutter at (202) 682-5692 or (202) 309-0100 or hutterv@arts.gov to attend any of the above events.

About "Art Works"

Chairman Landesman has summarized the guiding principle that will inform his work at the agency in two words - "art works" - which Chairman Landesman means in three ways:

  1. "Art works" is a noun. They are the books, crafts, dances, designs, drawings, films, installations, music, musicals, paintings, plays, performances, poetry, textiles, and sculptures that are the creation of artists.

  2. "Art works" is a verb. Art works on and within people to change and inspire them; it addresses the need people have to create, to imagine, to aspire to something more.

  3. "Art works" is a declarative sentence: arts jobs are real jobs that are part of the real economy. Art workers pay taxes, and art contributes to economic growth, neighborhood revitalization, and the livability of American towns and cities.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts 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 annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. Please visit the NEA website.


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