Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Samantha I. Lugo (212) 788-9364
Joining the Mayor were Schools Chancellor Rudolph F. Crew, the Chairman of the New York International Festival of the Arts, Martin Segal; artist Al Hirschfeld; student performers, actor Tony Randall, opera singer Jessye Norman and other distinguished artists.
"As the arts capital of the world. New York City is proud to give our children the opportunity to nurture a future in the arts. We know how important it is to foster a child's talents, and the school system is a wonderful place to encourage a child's creativity," said Mayor Giuliani.
"New York City, which is blessed with boundless treasures of art and culture, and is filled with millions of the most talented and creative people on the planet, should have the best arts education in the world. That's why we've been committed to restoring arts education in our public schools, at the core of every school's curriculum," the Mayor added.
"We want to thank Tony Randall, Jessye Norman, and the arts community for lending their talent, dedication and support to promoting arts education and in that way, nurturing the creation future artists," concluded the Mayor.
"Arts Education creates an enormously powerful inducement for young people to come to school, stay in school and excel in school. We are bringing back arts education, not only to give our students the complete education they deserve, but also to provide our young people with access to the meaningful career opportunities in the arts that exist in our City, the arts capital of the world," said Chancellor Crew.
Mr. Segal said, "We have a Mayor who believes strongly in arts education, a Schools Chancellor who understands its fundamental importance in improving the school system, and a strong economy that is making possible an even greater involvement of the cultural community in the education of our children."
Arts Education Week will produce over 1200 events involving 129 cultural institutions and 485 public schools, uniting the imagination of our teachers and students, the passion of our artists, and the greatness of New York's cultural community for a five-borough arts celebration. Artists, performers, writers and composers will visit City schools as guest lectures to share their professional achievements with students.
Arts Education Week seeks to inspire and motivate students, allowing them to develop their creative talents and appreciate the cultural richness of the City, while promoting the community's participation in art programs for children.
In 1997, the Mayor announced that in partnership with Chancellor Crew, New York City would continue raising standards and performance in the school system by recognizing the importance of the arts for a balanced curriculum, and as a tool for creative thinking and inspiration. The Mayor's Executive Budget for 1999 doubles the funding to restore arts education throughout the school system, allocating $50 million dollars for Project ARTS.
The Mayor, Chancellor Crew and the Commissioner of the New York State Education Department, Richard P. Mills, are the Honorary Co-Chairs of Arts Education Week.
The week's events are also sponsored by the City of New York, the Board of Education, and private sponsors: ASCAP Foundation; Bell Atlantic Foundation; The Chase Manhattan Corporation; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Jerome L. Greene Foundation, Inc.; Jane-Howard Hammerstein; The Hearst Corporation; The New York Times Company Foundation; May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.; David Schwartz Foundation, Inc.; Howard Stein; and the Ladislaus and Beatrix von Hoffman/Arcana Foundation, Inc.