PRESS RELEASE

October 23, 2002

Contact:
Katie Sproles, (541) 346-0942, ksproles@darkwing.uoregon.edu

UO MUSEUM OF ART, LANE ARTS COUNCIL RECEIVE GRANT TO BRING ARTS EDUCATION BACK INTO CLASSROOMS

EUGENE, OR, October 23, 2002 -- The National Endowment for the Arts has granted $30,000 to the University of Oregon Museum of Art (UOMA) and the Lane Arts Council (LAC) for Art Access, a project that will bring arts education to 10 Lane County K-8 schools that might not otherwise be exposed to the arts.

"As it stands now, the state has mandated art standards to be taught. However, the majority of the teachers in the area have not been trained to teach the arts standards," explains Jan Cagle, Madison Middle School art teacher.

The program was created to fill the void in arts instruction left by cuts in state education budgets. Art Access will provide participating K-8 classrooms with three professional teacher development workshops led by the UOMA, a one-week artist classroom residency provided by LAC artists, and school visits led by UOMA staff and docents during the 2002-2003 school year.

"We are committed to returning the arts to schools and improving the lives of Oregon children through arts-based programming, such as Art Access," says Lisa Abia-Smith, UOMA director of education.

"Art in schools gives children a sense of resourcefulness and imagination and curiosity that no other subject can give to this depth," says LAC artist Betsy Wolfston. "Too often after our children have fallen through the cracks, we see that art is one of the only ways of reaching a few of these children. Had we kept art in their lives on a daily basis, I think we would see fewer 'at risk' youths."

Currently enrolled in the program are teachers from eight local elementary schools, including Charlemagne Fox Hollow French Language Immersion School, Edgewood, Guy Lee, Laurel, Mt. Vernon, Patterson, River Road and Westmoreland. Space remains for teachers from two additional K-8 schools to participate.

For additional information or to register for the first teacher workshop on Oct. 30, contact Lisa Abia-Smith, UOMA director of education, at (541) 346-0966.

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