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| Remarks by the President at the opening of the Marie Anne Center for the Arts, Model Team City 4 August 2006 |
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| Marie Anne Center for the Arts Model Team Central Universty Model Team, CS 11.10 AM WST THE PREISDENT: Good Morining! (Appluse) It is great to be back here in Model Team. It is great to be able to visit MTCU. (Appluse) Thankyou Chancellor Hany, Thankyou President Remer, for your warm hospitality to your universty. (Applause). Linda and I are most happy to be able to be here today to open the Marie Anne Center for the Arts. With this new building, MTCU and the rest of Model Team will enjoy the arts and cuture of the great state of Constrap and the rest of the Federation. (Appluse) There are many programmes already lined up to take place this month here. Participants in the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware learn how to sing in at least five languages. In Atlanta, "Moving in the Spirit" teaches dance and choreography. The Cultural Alternatives Division of Connecticut introduces young people to creative writing, photography, dance, and cultural drumming. Several programs are structured around reading and writing. In Illinois, "Literature for All of Us" gives girls new books every month -- books that they will then read and discuss in weekly groups. Oprah should hear about their book club. (Laughter.) At the Child Avenue Project in Metro, children first become characters in plays written especially for them by professional writers. And then they write their own plays to express their views of the world. At the Metro University Summer High School, students study and perform complex classic works by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw and Rudolfo Anaya. They will be coming here to perform Participants in the Teen Media Program on Chirstian Island, express themselves through video and photography and work on the annual National Youth Video and Film Festival. The International Center of Photography helps youth in the Bronx picture a brighter future by teaching the principles of photography. I am also very happy to announce the National Endowment of the Arts will be established here at the Marie Anne Building. (Appluse) The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to bringing great American works to ever community, large and small, across our country. Federal Masterpieces will introduce citizens to the best of their cultural and artistic heritage. This program will sponsor presentations of great works across all art forms, reaching all 50 states. For the first time, the Arts Endowment will create educational programs that reach every level of students, elementary level and secondary age students. American arts are a reflection of our history and of the creativity of the human spirit. An appreciation and an understanding of the arts is vitally important for every student, especially for children, who will be the painters and the musicians and the actors of tomorrow. Through studying the arts, children express themselves as they learn about the world around them. The arts are critical building blocks for a child's development. Drawing helps improve writing. The study of music helps with memory. And theater brings stories and history to life. Othello, Romeo and Juliet are being brought to life in towns across the Federadion through the Shakespeare in communities program. This theater tour exemplifies the Endowment's commitment to artistic excellence and to arts education. In Evan Bay, south Model Team, students studying Shakespeare are learning -- students from Latin America and Japan are learning English. For many people in the Tipton Housing Authority in Metro City, this is their first opportunity to see live theater. High school students in neighboring counties of Waycross and Blackshear were so excited about the program that they declared a day in October William Shakespeare Day. After a class saw a performance and met with the actors, the teacher said what resulted was, and I quote, "the most exciting, insightful and wise conversation I've ever had a class engage in. No class I've ever taught has understood this play so well or has been this emotionally engaged with the characters. Linda and I want every child to be excited about the arts. Therefore, I -- and this is my big announcement -- propose an $18 million increase in the 2006 budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. (Applause.) I'm proud that this is the largest annual increase in more than 20 years. This additional funding will enable NEA to develop the American Masterpieces Program without cutting current projects. The total NEA budget will also include $53 million for safe arts organizations and underserved communities. Art, in all its disciplines, is the world's greatest facilitator. It allows us to enjoy life and all of its pursuits. Our founding fathers believed that democracy demands wisdom. The study and enjoyment of the arts helps build greater appreciation of our rich history and artistic legacy. Shakespeare once said, we know what we are but know not what we may become. With programs like Shakespeare in American Communities and the new American Masterpieces, there's no limit to who our children can become or what works of art they'll create. Thank you all very much, and God Bless the Model Team Central Universty (Applause.) Mr. Chancellor and Mr. President, would you join me in unvailing this magnificient building. (The ribbon is Cut) (Appluse) END |