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Wynton Marsalis to speak at Arts Advocacy Day 2007

National Arts Advocacy Day 2007 will be held March 12-13 in Washington, DC, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
The breakfast will feature a keynote presentation by Wynton Marsalis; special remarks by members of Congress and other celebrity artists; and a special performance by Melody Gardot, singer-songwriter and recipient of the 2007 VSA arts International Young Soloists Award.

The event is strategically timed to give grassroots advocates the opportunity to shape federal arts policy and educate members of Congress. Arts Advocacy Day is held in conjunction with the Congressional Arts Caucus, and many members of Congress will be involved in the day’s events. Additionally, join dozens of national arts, humanities, educational, and civic organizations that co-sponsor this event each year, which includes the Congressional Arts Breakfast.

Immediately after the Congressional Arts Breakfast, there will be a special hearing on the importance of investing in the arts — the first such hearing in 12 years. The hearing is called by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA), the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, which has jurisdiction over funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the subcommittee, Rep. Dicks invited Americans for the Arts to organize a panel of witnesses to give official testimony.

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Comments

  1. I’ll publish it as soon as i have it ;)

    Luigi on Mar 12th, 2007 at 10:40am

  2. Hi Luigi,
    could you please find and post at least an excerpt of Wynton’s speech?.
    Wynton has a lot to say in this issue and his words are always enlightening.
    Thanks.
    MTS.

    MTS on Mar 12th, 2007 at 10:34am

  3. Gloria….mandatory ?
    Absolutely not ! It should be….and Italy now is loosing all the leadership in art and classic music built by our legendary artists and maestri during the centuries

    Luigi on Mar 2nd, 2007 at 3:03pm

  4. It would be nice if the government would effect some changes. Hope we’ll hear about progress in arts education; there’s simply not enough music included within the general school curriculum, which long ago was mandatory in the U.S. I’m not sure how art classes have been affected; in the Stone Age we were all required to take art classes, too! Luigi, are music and art classes mandatory in Italy?

    Beginning with an Arts Advocacy “Day” is a good start…How about an Arts Advocacy Year to highlight the importance of arts education? Glo.

    gloria on Mar 1st, 2007 at 11:00pm

  5. This is exactly what is needed today. I’ve been seeing various ads in newspapers and magazines showing the impact of not having art as part of one’s education curriculum. Wynton is so impassioned when it comes to arts and education- I’m sure his presentation will be powerfully persuasive. Anyone interested should check out Melody Gardot’s story and hear her music. Hers is a very good example of the importance of the power of music, art and education.

    Sonalii on Mar 1st, 2007 at 10:11pm