Washington, DC—Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will visit San Antonio, Texas, December 9, 2015, at the invitation of Maria Lopez De Leon, member of the NEA’s National Council on the Arts, and executive director of National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). As part of her visit, Chairman Chu will visit local arts organizations and take part in a Town Hall, hosted by NALAC and the City San Antonio’s Department for Culture & Creative Development. Chairman Chu is available for short one-on-one interviews where noted in the schedule below and prior to the Town Hall. Prior to this visit, Chairman Chu will visit Austin December 7–8. More details about that visit are available here. Follow @NEAJaneChu on Twitter for updates and photos on her trip to Texas. Chairman Chu’s visit to San Antonio will begin with a tour of the Promise Zone where the City of San Antonio’s Department for Culture & Creative Development is working on an artist residency project for local artists to generate community-driven public art projects in the EastPoint Promise Zone. The NEA is supporting this project with an FY 2015 Our Town grant. Media are invited to join Chairman Chu at the end of her tour at the Carver Community Cultural Center, where she will meet with local partners involved in this project and the work in the Promise Zone. Next, Chairman Chu will tour the San Antonio Museum of Art, including the exhibition 28 Chinese. That afternoon, Chairman Chu will visit MujerARTES, a program of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Chairman Chu will tour the studio and meet with the women participating in the pottery cooperative. She will then visit San Anto Cultural Arts and go on a short tour of local murals that are of part of the organization’s San Anto Cultural Arts' Community Mural Project. That evening at 5:00pm, NALAC and the City of San Antonio Department for Culture & Creative Development will host a Town Hall event with Chairman Chu. Chairman Chu will give short remarks about the NEA’s 50^th anniversary and take questions from the audience. Media who wish to attend this event should contact Claudio Dicochea at cdicochea@nalac.org. This event is free and open to the public. As part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ 50^th anniversary, the NEA is creating a story bank of multimedia content that showcases the impact of the arts. To date, hundreds of people from across the country, including Texas, have submitted stories about how the arts and the National Endowment for the Arts have impacted their lives. Visit the NEA’s website to learn more about these stories. The following events are closed to the public, except where noted, but open to media. Media should contact Liz Auclair at auclaire@arts.gov or 202-682-5744 if they would like to attend any of the site visits or request an interview with Chairman Chu. Wednesday, December 9, 2015 9:45–10:15am Site visit in San Antonio Promise Zone Location: Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry, San Antonio, TX 78202 Participants:       Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Felix Padrón, dir., Dept. for Culture & Creative Development, City of San Antonio Mike Etienne, director, Office of EastPoint, City of San Antonio             Jimmy LeFlore, public art manager City of San Antonio   Yonnie Blanchett, director, Carver Community Cultural Center Tony Leverett, director, Eastside Promise Neighborhood United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County Arrie Porter, senior manager, Choice Neighborhood Initiative San Antonio Housing Authority                 Maria López de León, executive dir., National Assoc. of Latino Arts & Cultures    Gary Gibbs, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts

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10:15–10:30am Media availability with NEA Chairman Jane Chu. Media who wish to request a short one-on-one interview should contact Liz Auclair at auclaire@arts.gov. Location: Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry, San Antonio, TX 78202

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11:00am–12:00pm Tour of San Antonio Museum of Art Location: 200 West Jones Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78215 Participants:       Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Dr. Katie Luber, Kelso Director, San Antonio Museum of Art Dr. William Keyse Rudolph, The Marie and Hugh Halff Curator of American Art and Mellon Chief Curator, San Antonio Museum of Art Kimberly Britton, director of Development, San Antonio Museum of Art Maria López de León, executive dir., National Assoc. of Latino Arts & Cultures    Felix Padrón, dir., Dept. for Culture & Creative Development, City of San Antonio Gary Gibbs, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts

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12:15–12:45pm  Visit with Esperanza Peace and Justice Center/MujerARTES Location: MujerARTES, 1412 El Paso St, San Antonio, TX 78207 Participants:       Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Graciela Sanchez, executive director Gloria Ramirez, president of the MujerARTES Board Amy Kastely, treasurer of the MujerARTES Board Maria López de León, executive dir., National Assoc. of Latino Arts & Cultures    Felix Padrón, dir., Dept. for Culture & Creative Development, City of San Antonio Gary Gibbs, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts

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2:30–3:00pm Site visit with San Anto Cultural Arts Location: 2120 El Paso Street, San Antonio, TX 78207           Participants:       Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Pablo M. Martínez, executive director, San Anto Cultural Arts Sarah Z. Gould, Ph.D., president, Board of Directors, San Anto Cultural Arts Maria López de León, executive dir., National Assoc. of Latino Arts & Cultures    Felix Padrón, dir., Dept. for Culture & Creative Development, City of San Antonio Gary Gibbs, executive director, Texas Commission on the Arts

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4:00–4:30pm Media availability with NEA Chairman Jane Chu. Media who wish to request a short one-on-one interview should contact Liz Auclair at auclaire@arts.gov. Location: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 723 South Brazos Street, San Antonio, TX 78207

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5:00–6:00pm Town Hall, hosted by National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures and City of San Antonio Department for Culture & Creative Development. Media who wish to attend this event should contact Claudio Dicochea at cdicochea@nalac.org. This event is open to the public. Location: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 723 South Brazos Street, San Antonio, TX 78207 Participants:       Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Maria López de León, executive dir., National Assoc. of Latino Arts & Cultures    Felix Padrón, dir., Dept. for Culture & Creative Development, City of San Antonio Dr. Antonia Castañeda, moderator  About the National Endowment for the Arts Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016. Go to the 50^th section at arts.gov to enjoy art stories from around the nation, peruse the Facts & Figures section, and check out the anniversary timeline. About the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is a legacy organization investing in the Latino heritage of this nation. For over 26 years, NALAC has built a strong foundation for the promotion of Latino arts and culture and its advocacy efforts have advanced issues of cultural equity and raised the visibility and understanding of Latino artistic and cultural expression. The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is the nation's leading nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to the promotion, advancement, development, and cultivation of the Latino arts field. In this capacity, NALAC stimulates and facilitates intergenerational dialogues among disciplines, languages, and traditional and contemporary expressions. NALAC serves thousands of Latino artists and hundreds of organizations representing a national and international community of multiple Latinidades; a network that crosses many cultures across the Latino Diaspora. For more information visit our website at www.nalac.org or like us on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/Nalac.arts1.

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