press room

For Immediate Release

Organized by Americans for the Arts, and Sponsored by
VH1 Save the Music Foundation and The Robert Sterling Clark
Foundation

What:
Americans for the Arts, in collaboration with The Creative Coalition, the Congressional Arts Caucus and more than 50 co-sponsoring national arts service organizations, brings together entertainment, arts, education and policy leaders on Capitol Hill for Arts Advocacy Day: The 2001 National Arts Action Summit on Tuesday, March 20, from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. The critical need for federally funded arts programs for students of every age and all walks of life will be addressed, and grassroots advocates will have the opportunity to shape federal arts policy.

Breakfast Event:
Congressional Arts Breakfast and Youth Arts Day, from 8:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. is the featured event of Arts Advocacy Day: The 2001 National Arts Action Summit, organized by Americans for the Arts, and sponsored by VH1 Save the Music Foundation and The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.

Who:
William Baldwin, president of The Creative Coalition, (Backdraft and Sliver)
Marlee Matlin ("The West Wing" and Children of a Lesser God)
Hector Elizondo ("Chicago Hope," Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman)
Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue" and "Ladies Man")
Hallie Kate Eisenberg (The Insider, Bicentennial Man and Pepsi commercials)
Harry Shearer ("Saturday Night Live" and The Truman Show)
Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO, Americans for the Arts
William Ivey, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Mark Schwab, Binney & Smith CEO
Robert Morrison, executive director, VH1 Save the Music Foundation
Senator James M. Jeffords (R-VT)
Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY)
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, Arts Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

When:
Tuesday, March 20, 8:15 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Where:
Cannon House Office Building Independence and New Jersey Avenues, S.W.

Schedule:
8:15 - 9:30 a.m. -- Cannon Caucus Room Foyer
Members of Congress will assist students from Washington, D.C.'s Marie Reed Learning Center and Thompson Elementary School in assembling the Youth Arts Across America Map of the United States, which features children's artwork chosen from Binney & Smith's (makers of Crayola) and Americans for the Arts' "Crayola Color the States" contest. The completed map will be unveiled at 9:30 a.m. in the Cannon Caucus Room.

8:30 - 10:00 a.m. -- Cannon Caucus Room
Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, will host a breakfast showcasing the Woodstock SPEAKCHORUS of Vermont, Michelle Rivers courtesy of VSA arts, Emily Krieger courtesy of the Educational Theatre Association and art flags courtesy of Council for Art Education. National Endowment for the Arts Chairman William Ivey, Binney & Smith CEO Mark Schwab, VH1 Save the Music Foundation Executive Director Robert Morrison and members of Congress will speak out on youth arts issues, and celebrities on hand will include William Baldwin, Marlee Matlin, Hector Elizondo, Sharon Lawrence, Hallie Kate Eisenberg and others.

10:00 - 10:45 a.m. -- Cannon Caucus Room
Actor Harry Shearer will moderate the arts education panel,
"It Starts With The Arts," featuring National Endowment for the Arts Chairman William Ivey; The Creative Coalition President William Baldwin; and Alliance of Young Artists and Writers' Top Art Scholarship winner Sul-Jee Scully of Towson, MD. Americans for the Arts and The Creative Coalition are sponsors of the panel.

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. -- Capitol Hill
Arts Advocacy Day registrants and celebrities will make Congressional visits (based on pre-scheduled appointments). Press coverage of these visits is not permitted.

Equipment:
Still and video photography permitted during the map assembly, breakfast event and panel only. All equipment must be battery-operated. Please call for more information.