Chairman Rocco Landesman Releases the Schedule for His Visits to Arkansas and Kansas, March 12-15, 2012

Washington, DC -- NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as Topeka and Lawrence, Kansas, March 12–15, 2012, as part of his Art Works tour. In each city, Chairman Landesman will meet with arts organizations and arts and civic leaders to learn about their efforts to use the arts to create vibrant, livable communities. On March 12, Landesman will begin his visit to Arkansas by visiting the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. He will then travel to Fayetteville to visit three arts organizations -- TheatreSquared, the Northwest Arkansas Community Creative Center, and the Walton Arts Center. On the morning of March 13, Landesman will visit the Argenta Arts District in Little Rock, meeting with the Argenta Arts Foundation, Argenta Community Theatre, and Thea Foundation. He will then join Mayor Mark Stodola in a tour of downtown Little Rock to learn more about the city’s efforts to create a cultural corridor on Main Street. The design phase for this project is supported by an NEA Our Town grant. At 4:00 p.m., Landesman will take part in a public panel discussion on creative placemaking in Arkansas at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Arkansas’s First Lady, Ginger Beebe, will provide opening remarks at this panel. On March 14, Landesman will visit Topeka, Kansas, to learn more about the development of the North Topeka (NOTO) Arts District. He will begin by touring the district and then meet with key stakeholders in the project. Landesman will then take part in a public panel discussion about the NOTO project and the benefits of creative placemaking in Kansas. On March 15, Landesman will visit Lawrence, Kansas. After meeting with the Lawrence Arts Center and the Percolator, Landesman will visit the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas to participate in a panel discussion on creative placemaking. Please see the full schedule below for more information on all of these events.

Monday, March 12: Bentonville & Fayetteville, Arkansas

10:00 am- 12:00 pm Tour of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Don Bacigalupi, director, Crystal Bridges Museum Sandy Edwards, deputy director, Museum Relations, Crystal Bridges Museum Location: 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, AR 72712  
2:15-2:45 pm Meeting with TheatreSquared    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Robert Ford, artistic director, TheatreSquared Martin Miller, managing director, TheatreSquared Location: 505 W. Spring Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701  
2:45-3:15 pm Meeting with Northwest Arkansas Community Creative Center    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Susan Hutchcroft, executive director, Northwest Arkansas  Community Creative Center Location: 505 W. Spring Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701  
3:15-3:45 pm Meeting with Walton Arts Center    Participants: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Peter B. Lane, president/CEO, Walton Arts Center Barb Putman, foundation relations officer, Walton Arts  Center Location: 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701  

Tuesday, March 13: Little Rock, Arkansas

9:00-9:30 am Meeting with Argenta arts leaders and North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays    Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114  
9:30–10:00 am           Meeting with Argenta Arts Foundation    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council John Gaudin, board member, Argenta Arts Foundation  Donna Hardcastle, executive director, Argenta Arts  Foundation Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114   
10:00–10:30 am Tour of Argenta Community Theatre    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Vincent Insalaco, co-founder & artistic director, Argenta  Community Theatre  Judy Tenenbaum, co-founder & president, Argenta  Community Theatre Location: Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main Street, N Little Rock, AR 72114  
10:30-11:00 am Meeting with Thea Foundation        Participants: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman  Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Paul David Leopoulos, director, Thea Foundation         Nicholas Leopoulos, assistant director, Thea Foundation Location: 401 Main Street, Suite 100, North Little Rock, AR 72114  
11:30-1:00 pm Meeting with City of Little Rock about Our Town project    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mayor Mark Stodola Joy Pennington, executive director, Arkansas Arts Council Steve Luoni, University of Arkansas Center for Community  Design Marlon Blackwell, architect Caran Curry, grants manager, city of Little Rock Location:  523 Louisiana St # 305 Little Rock, AR 72201  
4:00-5:00 pm Panel discussion about creative placemaking in Arkansas, moderated by Joy Pennington, Arkansas Arts Council, with opening remarks by Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe * This event is free and open to the public. Reception to follow.    Location: Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main Street, Little Rock, AR 72201  

Wednesday, March 14

2:30-3:00 pm Tour of North Topeka Arts District    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman John Hunter, NOTO Arts District Anita Wolgast, NOTO Arts District Location: North Topeka Community Arts Center, 922 North Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608   
3:00-4:00 pm Meeting with key stakeholders in North Topeka Arts District    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Doug Kensinger, CEO of the Topeka Chamber of  Commerce Shelly Bueler, Shawnee County Commissioner Laura Kelly, Senator, Kansas State Legislator Berry Feaker, executive director, Topeka Rescue Mission  and member of the Quality of Life Foundation for Heartland Visioning Local artists and business/property owners Location: Serendipity, 820 N Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608  
4:30-6:00 pm Panel discussion about creative placemaking in Topeka, moderated by John Hunter, North Topeka Arts District          * This event is free and open to the public. Reception to follow.    Location: Serendipity, 820 N Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608   

Thursday, March 15

9:15-10:00 am Meeting with the Lawrence Arts Center    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director, Mid-America  Arts Alliance Susan Tate, director, Lawrence Arts Center Location: 940 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence, KS 66044  
10:00-10:30 am Meeting with the Percolator    Participants:  NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director, Mid-America  Arts Alliance Dave Loewenstein, artist Location: Ninth and New Hampshire Lawrence, KS 66044   
11:30-1:00 pm Panel discussion about creative placemaking, moderated by Saralyn Reece Hardy, director, Spencer Museum of Art * This event is free and open to the public.    Location: Spencer Museum of Art, 1301 Mississippi Street, Lawrence, KS 66045   
 

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