special edition of Portland Art Spark September 18, 2008

WHAT: The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will announce its plans to begin providing arts education for every K-8 child in the Portland metropolitan region. In the spring of 2009, this initiative, which builds arts education activities into the standard curriculum, will launch in 20 schools across four local school districts, serving 10,000 children and their teachers. Organizers will also unveil a new brand identity for the program.

WHEN: Thursday, September 18, 2008

free and open to the public

At 5:00 PM –Local artists will convene at the ArtBar in the lobby of Antoinette Hatfield Hall for a special arts education edition of “Art Spark,” a monthly networking opportunity for artists and arts administrators. (See www.portlandartspark.com).

At 6:00 PM –Arts Partners Project Manager Marna Stalcup will discuss opportunities for artists who are interested in working in classrooms through this program.

(by invitation only) At 6:30 PM –RACC Board Chair Carole Morse and RACC Executive Director Eloise Damrosch will welcome 300 guests to an appreciation event for Arts Partners funders, committee members, and other stakeholders inside the Winningstad Theater.

At 6:45 PM –Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith will talk about the importance of arts education in our schools.

At 7:00 PM –National Teacher of the Year, Michael Geisen from Prineville, Oregon, will speak.

At 7:15 PM –RACC will unveil the new identity for the initiative formerly known as “Arts Partners.”

All speakers will conclude by 7:30, with a reception in the lobby to follow.

Official Website: http://www.portlandartspark.com