FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 23, 2006

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu
Klark Jessen, (515) 242-7713, klark.jessen@dmps.k12.ia.us

PRAIRIE MEADOWS GRANT ENABLES DES MOINES STUDENTS TO EXPERIENCE FINE ARTS AT DRAKE BEGINNING THIS WEEK

Hundreds of Des Moines high school students will visit Drake University this semester to learn first-hand about art, music and theater at the university level, thanks to a $10,000 grant awarded to the Drake School of Fine Arts by Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino through its 2005 community betterment grant program.

The grant provides money for transporting students from Des Moines’ five public high schools to the Drake campus to attend performances and exhibitions and interact with Drake faculty and students. Drake is collaborating with the Des Moines Public Schools on the year-long project, which is titled “Shakespeare, Opera and Fine Art: Connecting High School Students with University Fine Arts.”
The project will begin this week when a total of 250 students from East, Hoover, Lincoln and North High Schools explore the visual arts at Drake. On Jan. 25, 26 and 27, groups of 50 students will take guided tours of the “Doubletake” exhibition at the Anderson Gallery, visit Drake’s art studios and talk with college students majoring in fine arts. Leading the tour will be Nora Wendl, director of the Anderson Gallery, which is located in the Harmon Fine Arts Center at 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue.

"We are pleased to benefit once again from our first class educational partnership with Drake University and the generosity of Prairie Meadows,” Des Moines Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said. “I can think of no better opportunity than to expose our high school students to the outstanding artistic talents of Drake faculty and students."

Drake University is very appreciative of the Prairie Meadows grant, said John Burney, dean of Drake’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Collaboration with the Des Moines schools benefits us all,” Burney added. “High school students will be exposed to fine arts programming that their schools could not afford in any other way. Drake students will find a new audience and get a chance to better learn the cultural and social role played by the arts in our city. Prairie Meadows’ support for buses to provide this connection helps further our service to the community and enhances the learning of all the students involved."

The schedule for this week’s campus visits is listed below:

Wednesday, Jan. 25: Hoover High School - 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, Jan. 26: Lincoln High School - 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27: East High School - 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and North High School - 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Other campus visits planned for the spring semester are:

• Feb. 24: Students from several high schools will experience “The Duo Shakespeare,” adapted from many of the bard’s most famous plays by Michael Rothmayer, Drake assistant professor of theatre arts. The students will hear and see scenes from Shakespeare, followed by talks by Rothmayer and John Pomeroy, chair of the Drake Theatre Arts Department. All aspects of Shakespeare will be explored from the scenes themselves to set design and costuming.
• April 13: Students from across Des Moines will fill the Performing Arts Hall to experience a “Taste of Opera.” Ann Cravero, Drake assistant professor of music and director of the opera, “Pirates of Penzance,” will guide the students through the various aspects of opera production. Drake voice students will perform various scenes from the production.
• April 27: Clive Elliott, the Daniel B. Goldberg artist in residence at Drake, will talk about his work as director of Drake’s production of the “Importance of Being Ernest” and involve Drake students in performing one or two acts from the play.

Additional fine arts experiences for students in Des Moines high schools are being planned for the fall semester.

Friends of Drake Arts, a private group that supports the arts at Drake, was instrumental in developing and coordinating the grant and will provide additional support for grant implementation. Friends of Drake Arts board members Vicki Goldsmith and Ruth Anne Gaines, both high school teachers in the Des Moines Public Schools, originally conceived the idea for the Des Moines Schools-Drake Fine Arts connection. Friends of Drake Arts board members worked with school district administrators to develop the program and will coordinate the grant with Drake throughout the spring and fall semesters.

Prairie Meadows’ 18-member Grant Advisory committee, comprised of education, religious and business leaders from the Des Moines area, review all grant requests and recommends funding levels. This year, 291 organizations applied for grants, and more than 140 organizations shared in the funding allocations.

Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant allocations are divided into four categories: arts and culture, economic development, education and human services. Since 1995 Prairie Meadows has contributed more than $285 million to promote education, economic development, agriculture, jobs and tourism in Iowa.

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