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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Indiana University ArtsWeek 2011 showcases education and the arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 3, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's 27th annual ArtsWeek, Feb. 17-27, 2011, will focus on the theme "ArtsTeach."

ArtsWeek is an annual campus-community celebration of the arts around Bloomington, featuring dozens of exhibitions, performances and events. Each year, the event's theme expresses a facet of the ways the arts affect our lives, such as the 2010 theme of Arts and the Environment. ArtsWeek Coordinator Sherry Knighton-Schwandt says the 2011 theme has special resonance.

"In this period of declining resources for public education, the focus on education and the arts is particularly relevant," said Knighton-Schwandt, director of communications and special projects for the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at IU Bloomington. "This year, we actively encouraged collaborative projects that highlight the significance and impact of creativity and imagination in the lives of young people."

ArtsWeek is supported by IU's Office of the President, Office of the Provost, and Office of the Vice Provost for Research along with the City of Bloomington and many other offices. ArtsWeek grants offer up to $2,500 for projects selected in an annual competition. This year's competition drew more than 40 proposals for joint projects between university and community artists and schools.

"This year presents an especially rich and exciting opportunity for Indiana University to broaden our mission, reaching out in new partnerships with local children and youth, teachers and artists, area businesses and non-profits in our IU and Bloomington communities. I look forward to 11 days of celebration and discovery, " said Karen Hanson, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president.

Mary Bess Bohon-Lee, arts educator at Clear Creek Elementary School, received a grant to work with students on creating art inspired by Native American imagery and writing.

"I teach 500 students every week about artists, media, technique, art history, and cultural history," Lee said. "I see the impact the arts have on my students as they gain knowledge about the world around them and as a result, a deeper knowledge of themselves. Arts contribute to overall success in teaching, and I'm ecstatic that this reality is recognized in the 2011 theme for ArtsWeek."

Using musical arts to enhance learning is behind a special performance by percussionists from Gary, Ind. The Drum Corps from the Dr. Bernard C. Watson K-6 Boys Academy will perform at the IU School of Education and Bloomington's Rogers Elementary with members of the IU Jacobs School of Music Percussion Department. Claire King, associate director at the School of Education's Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration, is coordinating the project.

The Watson Drum Corp mixes percussion and spoken word in its performances to teach literacy through the arts. "This type of innovative approach shows not just a unique approach to helping students develop their artistic talents but demonstrates the remarkable value arts can have for student learning in all subject areas," said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the IU School of Education. "Our faculty and staff have used music, poetry, painting, and other arts to help students find their voice and inspire them to read and write. The ArtsWeek program will be a special treat for this group of students to come here to perform and also a demonstration of how such activities promote student engagement and learning."

Jazz pianist Monika Herzig's project, "The Jazz Legacy of Indiana," is the winner of this year's $500 Anya Peterson-Royce Showcase Award, named for ArtsWeek's originator and given to a project that reflects Peterson-Royce's scholarly interests in the performing arts. Herzig, a member of IU Bloomington's arts administration faculty, will collaborate with Fairview and University Elementary teachers and students on a series of lessons about Indiana jazz legends. During ArtsWeek, the students will present a multimedia performance in the auditorium of the new Fairview Elementary School.

"The music teachers at Fairview and University schools are very excited about bringing their children together and teaching them about Indiana's jazz legacy. We all appreciate the support for this special project," Herzig said.

2011 funded ArtsWeek projects are:

• The Jazz Legacy of Indiana -- Monika Herzig and Fairview and University Elementary Schools
• Partners in Percussion: Dr. Bernard C. Watson K-6 Boys Academy and IU Jacobs School of Music Percussion Department -- Claire King and Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration
• Student Engagement Acting Workshop -- Jonathan Michaelsen, IU Department of Theatre and Drama
• Developing Creativity in Young Dance Artists: A Shared Residency with Choreographer Nicole Wolcott, Collaborating with Jackson Creek Middle School -- Elizabeth Shea, Contemporary Dance Program, IU School of HPER
• International Vocal Ensemble -- Katy Strand, Alain Barker (Jacobs School of Music), and the First Presbyterian Church
• Family ArtsWeekEnd -- Paul Sturm, IU Art Museum
• The Peace Play and Peace Museum — Barb Bonchek, Harmony School
• Playing Piano is Fun! Collaborating with Childs Elementary -- Craig Brenner and Bloomington High School South Band
• Math in Your Feet -- Monica Chapin and Templeton Elementary School
• MiniPlay Contest for students in grades 3-12 -- Gabe Gloden, Bloomington Playwrights Project
• ArtsTeach Images -- Staci Jennings and Bloomington High School South Art Class
• Back Home Again in Indiana -- Donna Lafferty and Bloomington Symphony Orchestra
• Tag, 2010: A Collaborative Art Project -- Joe LaMantia and Edgewood High School
• Leaders and Storytellers: Learning to Find Our Voices from the Voices of Native People -- Bess Lee and Clear Creek Elementary School
• A Day of Writing and Art: Ekphrasis Writing Workshop and Art Exhibition -- Beth Lodge-Rigal and Young Women Writing for (a) Change
• Shakespeare Study Unit -- Deirdre Sheets and Bloomington Montessori School
• The American Sound -- Dustin Stephan and AmeriClog!
• Developing the Melodic Improviser -- Janis Stockhouse and Bloomington High School North Jazz Bands
• Displaying work from Youth Mural Arts After School Program -- Brad Wilhelm and Rhino's Youth Center

For more information, as well as news and other ArtsWeek updates, sign up for the ArtsWeek e-mail list, available on the ArtsWeek Web site, https://artsweek.indiana.edu/.

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