The U.S. Department of Education will host the opening of two exhibits with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Department’s Barnard Auditorium at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., in Washington, D.C. The event features nearly 100 two- and three-dimensional visual works and film and animation, along with several dozen writing pieces. All of the works won Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 2011. Thirty-four students, eight of whom are from Hawaii, will attend the opening with their teachers and families. In celebration of the performing arts, the program will feature dance performances by students from the native Hawaiian school Hanau O’Aulani, located in Bowie, Md.
Jim Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, will deliver remarks along with several others, listed below.
The Department’s Student Art Exhibit Program, now in its eighth year, features visual art created by students in U.S. and international schools, and provides students and teachers an opportunity to display creative work from the classroom in a highly public space that honors their work as an effective path to learning and knowledge for all. The opening events often feature performances by students in music, dance, theatre and original literary works that pay tribute to the varied paths of student creativity.
Tomorrow’s event coincides with National Arts in Education Week, which takes place the week following the second Sunday of September, as designated by Congressional Resolution 275, to raise awareness of the value and importance of arts in education. The works in the Hawaii exhibit will be on display at the Department through October, and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exhibit will remain through August 2012.
TO ATTEND THE EXHIBIT AND FOR MORE INFORMATION:Contact Jackye Zimmermann at 202-401-0762 or at [email protected]
NOTE TO EDITORS: Scholastic Art student winners being shown at the Department and attending the opening are from the following states: Georgia (Atlanta); Hawaii; Maryland (Towson); Kentucky (Louisville); Massachusetts (Falmouth and Franklin); New Jersey (Englewood and Jersey City); New York (Pittsford), and Texas (Houston).