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NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman is Thankful that Art Works in his Hometown of St. Louis, Missouri

On Saturday, November 28, 2009, the Chairman will visit
the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2009

		Contact: Victoria Hutter 202-360-7057 hutterv@arts.gov

Washington, D.C. - NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will be in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri over the Thanksgiving weekend. As part of his ongoing Art Works tour – during which he is visiting neighborhoods across the country to see firsthand how art works in different communities and artistic disciplines – he will visit the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.

Chairman Landesman declared, "I am thankful that we have so many wonderful museums across our country. In the St. Louis area alone, there are some 96 museums employing more than 1,900 people, and each of those is a great example of how art works as an employment sector and as part of the real economy. In addition, museums display great works of art, which can work on us as human beings to inspire and transform us." Chairman Landesman continued, "The Thanksgiving weekend is often a perfect time to visit a museum with a young person."

Chairman Landesman encourages anyone taking a young person to a museum to use Imagine, a free publication available for download from the publications section of www.arts.gov that includes suggestions for making museum visits more fun and intriguing for children. In addition, Imagine also includes suggestions for participating in literature, dance, music, theater, visual arts, folk arts, and media arts with children between the ages of three and eight.

About "Art Works"

The Art Works tour began in Peoria, Illinois on November 6, 2009 and included a tour of the warehouse arts district organized by the ArtsPartners of Central Illinois and a performance of Eastlight Theatre’s production of the musical Rent. Chairman Landesman believes that art works in three ways:

1. "Art works" are the books, crafts, dances, designs, drawings, films, installations, music, musicals, paintings, plays, performances, poetry, textiles, and sculptures that are the creation of artists.

2. "Art works" on and within people to change and inspire them; it works to help us understand the people we are and imagine the people we may become.

3. "Art works" reminds us that arts jobs are real jobs that are part of the real economy. Art workers pay taxes, and art contributes to economic growth, neighborhood revitalization, and the livability of American towns and cities.

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