NEWS!!!!

[artsjou...@centurytel.net]

American University (AU), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and
the U.S. Department of State recently announced the inaugural NEA
International Arts Journalism Institute in Visual Arts, to take place
June 12-26, 2009.

Applicants were reviewed and a full announcement of participants will
be made shortly. I am proud to inform you that I was one of the 12 US
journalists chosen for this prestigious honor.

The International Arts Journalism Institute in Visual Arts is a
partnership between the NEA and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (ECA) and is administered by
American University. This first NEA journalism institute focused on
visual arts demonstrates the NEA's commitment -- shared by ECA -- to
supporting informed arts criticism. Previous NEA journalism institutes
have focused on dance, music, and theater.

During the two-week visual arts institute, up to 12 writers, editors,
and broadcast and online producers from the United States, as well as
up to 12 journalists from overseas, will visit museums, attend
lectures, and participate in writing workshops. All sessions will be
conducted in English. Based at AU, the journalists will take day
trips throughout the mid-Atlantic region, visiting art galleries and
museums in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.,
with an emphasis on American art since 1860. The journalists will
meet with visual art professionals ranging from curators at major
museums to directors of small galleries. Acting NEA Chairman Patrice
Walker Powell said, "Since 2004, the NEA's arts journalism institutes
have offered American journalists a chance to hone their reviewing
skills and expand their cultural knowledge. We are pleased to now
share this unique experience with international journalists who
benefit not only from the professional training and cross-cultural
dialogue, but have an opportunity to view masterpieces of American
art."