FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2008

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343
or Rob Watson, Communications Coordinator 617-727-3668 x268

MASS. CULTURAL COUNCIL LAUNCHES CREATIVE MINDS TOUR
Events Statewide Highlight Importance of Arts Education & Creative Learning

Boston, MA—Today the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) announced the launch of a statewide Creative Minds tour to highlight the importance of arts education and creative learning for young people in school and beyond. The MCC has launched a newly redesigned online source for arts education and creative learning to coincide with this initiative.

“Creativity and innovation are vital skills for our young people as they prepare to meet the challenges of adulthood and a global economy,” said MCC Executive Director Anita Walker. “But we know that many of our schools are not fostering those skills. In some communities, children have no opportunity to experience the arts. We want to draw attention to those schools and communities where exciting things are happening to show what’s possible when we make a commitment to fostering creative minds.”

The Creative Minds tour begins Friday, February 29 at 7 p.m. in Pittsfield to celebrate Barrington Stage Co.’s recent Coming Up Taller Award from the U.S. President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The prestigious awards recognize outstanding arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people, and provide them opportunities to learn and contribute to their communities. Barrington’s Playwright Mentoring Project was honored for its work to create an entirely youth-conceived and written show under the guidance of professional playwrights, artistic mentors, and peer mentors, and then tour area schools and community venues. The MCC’s Anita Walker will be joined by State Senator Benjamin Downing of Pittsfield, Juvenile Court Justice Paul Perachi, and many others. Barrington Stage will also present youth performances from the Playwright Mentoring Project Saturday, April 5 at 2 p.m. For more information see www.barringtonstageco.org.

Other Creative Minds events will continue during national Arts Education Month in March and beyond, including:

• A live taping of From the Top, on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. More than 200 Massachusetts school children and their parents are expected to attend. From the Top is a non-profit organization best known for its NPR radio program and PBS television series celebrating the inspiring music and stories of the nation’s top young classical musicians. From the Top reaches millions of school children each year through collaborations with the Wallace Foundation, Young Audiences, Inc., McGraw Hill textbooks, MCC, and community partners. For more information go to www.fromthetop.org.
• The 2008 Education Forum II at Woodland Commons on the UMass Dartmouth campus on March 7, from 8:30-2:30. Entitled, "Critical Thinking: The Next Generation of Teachers," this forum is designed for educators at all levels to help students develop critical thinking skills through creative learning. The MCC’s Anita Walker will be among the featured speakers. For details go to www.umassd.edu/calendar.
• The third annual Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The Massachusetts competition begins Saturday, March 8, when 41 schools from across the state gather at Clark University in Worcester and the Framingham Civic Center for this poetry reading competition. The finals will take place the following day, Sunday, March 9 at the Old South Meeting House in Boston, when 15 finalists will compete to represent Massachusetts in the Poetry Out Loud national competition in Washington, D.C. in April. MCC sponsors the state competition with Huntington Theatre Co. See www.huntingtontheatre.org/education/poetry.aspx for details.
• Telling Our Story: The Statewide Assembly of Local Cultural Councils Wednesday, March 12 at 10 at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Nearly half the projects funded by local cultural councils support programs for students in elementary and secondary schools. Local council volunteers and legislators will be honored.
• The MCC Board meeting at RAW Art Works in Lynn on Tuesday, March 18. A nonprofit youth arts organization, RAW employs professional artists and master's level art therapists who provide a safe haven where young people explore the language of art. RAW is a former Coming Up Taller Award winner and a recipient of MCC’s Commonwealth Award in 2005. MCC will also visit LynnArts Inc. with Rep. Steven Walsh of Lynn, a 2006 recipient of the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education Award for Legislative Leadership.
• The Massachusetts High School Drama Festival March 27-29 in Boston. The Festival, which MCC sponsors along with the Boston Globe, draws more than 100 schools and more than 3,000 students. Now in its seventh decade, this play competition is open to every public, private, and parochial high school in the Commonwealth. Students with interests in acting, directing, and technical theatre gain valuable performance and production experience by participating. For details go to www.mhsdg.com/festival.html.
• Celebration of Ancient Greece at the JFK Middle School in Northampton on Friday, April 11 at 10:30 a.m. This student showcase, supported through an MCC Creative Schools grant, is the culmination of a classroom residency with artist Nick Kachulis that uses stories, art, music, dance, and drama to teach Ancient Greek mythology, history, and culture to middle-schoolers. State Senator Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, a longtime supporter of arts education, will attend.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the state’s economic vitality.

MCC is a state agency committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.

For more information on March is Arts Education Month, go to www.keepartsinschools.org.