PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa
Contact: Shannon McCue
education@tuscarts.org
205-345-9801
THE PARTNERS PROJECT ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF REGIONAL TEAM
(TUSCALOOSA, Ala.) The pARTners Project, a multi-phased collective impact initiative supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, is excited to announce the formation of a Regional Team that will oversee the direction and scope of the project over its two-year run. The grant was awarded to create a plan to increase access to arts education for students in the West-Central Alabama area, and the Regional Team is made up of individuals with deep connections to the diverse communities in this area.
Members of The pARTners Project Regional Team come from a variety of professional sectors and all have an interest in or connection to the arts. Team members include:
Joi Brown, Jefferson County Memorial Project
Bill Buchanan, Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History & Reconciliation Foundation and Tuscaloosa Tourism & Sports Commission
Elijah Davis (Birmingham co-Chair), Urban Impact, Inc.
Dr. Andrew Henley, Alabama State Council on the Arts
Myeisha Hutchinson, MDH Strategies, Inc.
Marie King (Birmingham co-Chair), Racial Justice & Equity Activist
Diane Litsey, The Dance Foundation
Shannon McCue (co-Director), West Alabama Arts Education Collaborative
Sean McMahon, UAB Lister Hill Center for Health Policy
Celestia Morgan, The University of Alabama, College of Arts and Sciences
Deanna Sirkot (co-Director), Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative
Ashley Wheat (Tuscaloosa co-Chair), Alabama Blues Project
Dr. Jesse Wheeler, Stillman College
Sandra Wolfe, Arts and Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa
“As the child of two educators, I know it’s critical to empower the next generation by providing equitable access to quality education. I am thrilled the Arts & Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa and the Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative have secured this critical federal funding as part of the National Endowment for the Arts initiative to expand access to arts education in rural and underserved areas. For generations, the arts have served to inspire and ignite young people’s imaginations, and I look forward to the creative solutions this investment will bring to broaden equal access to educational opportunities for the children of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.” –Congresswoman Terri Sewell, U.S. Representative, District 7
For more information about The Arts Council, Bama Theatre, or Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, patrons should LIKE the Facebook page “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” and follow tuscarts on Twitter. Call 205-758-5195 or visit tuscarts.org for further information.
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