First Lady Laura Bush Presents National Award to Park District & Chicago Humanities Festival
Youth, Adult Program Representatives Travel to Washington, D.C. for Jan. 28 White House Ceremony
Release Date: 01/28/08
The Chicago Park District and the Chicago Humanities Festival, which jointly created the Words@PLAY program to enable children to develop their powers of self-expression through poetry, were nationally recognized as one of 18 youth arts and humanities programs to receive the prestigious 2007 Coming Up Taller Award. Youth and adult representatives of the program attended a White House ceremony yesterday and received the award from Laura Bush in Washington, D.C.
Coming Up Taller is an initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH). The President’s Committee partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to administer the program that was founded in 1998.
The Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and support outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of young people, and provide them with new learning opportunities and a chance to contribute to their communities. The awards also highlight the contributions that historians, scholars, librarians and visual and performing arts make to families and communities by mentoring children. More than 350 nominations were received by the program in 2007.
Words@PLAY is a 10-week after-school program offered at Chicago Park District cultural centers in high-need neighborhoods. Teachers and professional poets lead weekly 90-minute sessions that introduce 8-to12-year-old participants to different styles of poetry, the rewards of writing and performance and the work of great poets.
Some of the youngsters’ original poetry is featured in a performance by the Barrel of Monkeys, a professional theater company, at the annual fall Children’s Humanities Festival. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, students share the spotlight by reciting their poems on stage at a special event.
“Arts and humanities activities have a wonderful way of enabling young people to discover their unique talents and interests while forging a path to success in school and life,” said Adair Margo, Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. “Words@PLAY helps students create and enjoy an art form that lends itself very naturally to their own self-expression.”
Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Timothy Mitchell said, “This successful partnership helps youth explore their creativity and cultivate skills they can use throughout life.”
“As children listen to the poetry of their peers, they learn to better understand the thoughts and viewpoints of others,” added Mary Kate Barley-Jenkins, director of education for the Festival. “In doing so, they learn to celebrate the similarities and differences of those around them.”
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities bridges the interests of federal agencies and the private sector, supports special projects that increase participation, and helps incorporate the humanities and the arts into White House objectives. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Because democracy demands wisdom, the National Endowment for the Humanities serves and strengthens our Republic by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal grant making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners.
For more information about the Chicago Park District, click here or call 312-742-PLAY.
Click here for information on the Chicago Humanities Festival or call 312-661-1028.
For additional information please visit the following sites:
Coming Up Taller
President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
Institute of Museum and Library Services
- Contact Phone: 312 742 7529