Chairman Rocco Landesman Releases the Schedule for His Visit to Phoenix, Maricopa County, Tucson, and Ajo, Arizona, February 27-29, 2012

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Phoenix, Maricopa County, Tucson, and Ajo, Arizona, February 27–29, 2012, as part of his Art Works tour. In each of these cities, the Chairman will visit the recipients of NEA Our Town grants or NEA Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative (MICD 25) grant to learn more about their efforts to use the arts to create vibrant, livable communities. On Monday, February 27, the Chairman will visit Phoenix and Maricopa County. This visit is hosted by Jim Ballinger, the director of the Phoenix Art Museum and a member of the National Council on the Arts. The Chairman will begin the day by meeting with local arts and culture leaders. He will then travel to Chandler to visit the multidisciplinary arts organization Xico arte y cultura and meet with the mayor of Chandler, Jay Tibshraeny. The Chairman will then visit Phoenix for a brief tour of the Musical Instrument Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum and a meeting with the mayor of Phoenix, Greg Stanton. Following this, the Chairman will tour downtown Phoenix, and in particular, the downtown Phoenix Public Market. In 2010, the city of Phoenix received an NEA MICD 25 grant to hire an artist-led team to redesign a city block along a key thoroughfare fronting the new market. In Tuscon on Tuesday, February 28, Chairman Landesman will begin by touring the Historic Warehouse Arts District; the Tucson Pima Arts Council received an NEA Our Town grant to support cultural asset mapping and community engagement for the district. In addition, the Chairman will participate in a public panel discussion about creative placemaking in Tucson. That evening, he will speak at a reception as part of the FILM FORWARD events in Arizona and attend a screening of On the Ice, directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, one of 10 films selected as part of the 2012 FILM FORWARD. FILM FORWARD is an international cultural exchange program designed to enhance cross-cultural understanding, collaboration, and dialogue around the globe by engaging audiences through the exhibition of film and conversation with filmmakers. FILM FORWARD is an initiative of Sundance Institute and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The following day, February 29, the Chairman will travel to Ajo to meet with the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, recipient of an NEA Our Town grant to support the development of a master plan to enhance linkages, wayfinding, and the sense of community ownership of Ajo's 15-acres-large town center, which includes 12 buildings on the historic Curley School Campus and the Spanish Revival style town plaza with a center green and 90,000 square feet of commercial space, including undeveloped indoor and outdoor public spaces. Please see the full schedule below for more information on all of these events.

MONDAY, FEB. 27: PHOENIX

8:30-10:00 am Meeting with local arts and culture leaders Location: Tempe Center for the Arts, Childsplay Studio, 700 W. Rio Salado, Tempe, AZ 85281  
10:30-11:00 am Meeting at Xico arte y cultura  Participants:     NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Donna Valdes, executive director, Xico arte y cultura Jim Ballinger, member, National Council on the Arts Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts Location: 44 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler, AZ 85225  
11:15–11:45 am Meeting with Mayor Jay Tibshraeny of Chandler Participants:                 NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mayor Jay Tibshraeny  Eric Faulhaber, visual arts coordinator Jim Ballinger, member, National Council on the Arts Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts Location: Vision Gallery, Chandler Arts Commission, 10 East Chicago Street, Chandler, AZ 85225  
12:30–2:00 pm Tour and Meeting at Musical Instrument Museum Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Bill DeWalt, director, Musical Instrument Museum Jim Ballinger, member, National Council on the Arts Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts  Location: 4725 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85050  
2:30-3:45 pm  Tour of the Phoenix Art Museum Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Jim Ballinger, member, National Council on the Arts Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts  Location: 1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004   
4:00-4:15 pm Meeting with Mayor Greg Stanton of Phoenix Participants:     NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mayor Greg Stanton Jim Ballinger, member, National Council on the Arts Location: City of Phoenix, Mayor's Office, 200 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003
4:15-5:30 pm Tour of downtown Phoenix and discussion about the city of Phoenix's MICD 25 grant. Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Jim Ballinger, Member, National Council on the Arts Robert C. Booker, executive director, Arizona Commission on the Arts Location: Tour will begin at Phoenix Public Market, 14 E Pierce St., Phoenix, AZ 85004  

TUESDAY, FEB. 28: TUCSON

9:00-10:45 am Walking tour of Tucson's Art Warehouse District and discussion about Tucson Pima Arts Council's (TPAC) Our Town project. Participants:     NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mayor Jonathan Rothschild  Roberto Bedoya, Tucson Pima Arts Council Elizabeth Burden, Warehouse Arts Management Organization Location: Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W 6th, Tucson, AZ 85701   
11:00- 11:45 am         Discussion with leaders of Tucson's major arts and culture organizations Participants: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman NACHOS leadership network: NACHOS is comprised of the region's executive directors of nature, arts, culture, and heritage organizations.  Location: MOCA Tucson, 265 South Church Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701  
12:00- 1:30 pm         Panel discussion about creative placemaking in Tucson. Participants: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman (panelist) Dr. Maribel Alvarez (panelist), program director, Tucson Meet Yourself  Gail Brown (panelist), executive director, University of Arizona's Poetry Center Bill Macky (panelist), artist Roberto Bedoya (moderator), executive director, Tucson Pima Arts Council  Location: Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701   
5:00-6:00 pm Remarks at FILM FORWARD reception  Location: Tucson Museum of Art, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701 * This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information on all FILM FORWARD events.  
7:00-9:00 pm Screening of On the Ice followed by Q&A with Writer/Director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean Location: The Loft Cinema3233 East Speedway Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85716 * This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information on all FILM FORWARD events.  

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 29: AJO

10:30 am- 12:00 pm Meeting and walking tour with International Sonoran Desert Alliance about Our Town project Participants: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Tracy Taft, executive director, International Sonoran Desert  Alliance Sharon Bronson, Pima County Board of Supervisors Jim Wilcox, senior project manager, International Sonoran Desert Alliance Maria Gmuca, project manager, International Sonoran Desert  Alliance Location: 401 W Esperanza, Ajo, AZ 85321   
 
 

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