For Immediate Release: October 30, 2007
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
IAC scholarship grant applications due Dec. 10
(DES MOINES, Iowa)— Iowa high school students planning to enter college with a major in an arts discipline are invited to apply for the 2008 Iowa Scholarship for the Arts.
Offered annually by the Iowa Arts Council, the award is given to Iowa residents who will graduate from an Iowa high school during the 2007-2008 academic year and have proven artistic ability in dance, literature, music, theater, traditional arts or visual arts.
Each recipient will receive $1,000-$2,000 toward his or her 2008-2009 college tuition and related expenses as a full-time undergraduate at a fully-accredited Iowa college or university with a major in one or more of the disciplines considered for the award. Last year, IAC received nearly 100 scholarship award applications from Iowa students.
To be considered for the award, students must complete the scholarship application available at www.iowaartscouncil.org, write an essay about their future career goals in the arts, and include two letters of recommendation. Applications and attachments are due by 4:30 p.m., December 10, 2007 in the Iowa Arts Council offices at 600 E. Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50319. Incomplete, illegible, handwritten or faxed applications will not be accepted. Application review, criteria, approval and notification process information is available at www.iowaartscouncil.org. Please contact Sarah Ekstrand at 515-281-4657 or sarah.ekstrand@iowa.gov for more information.
The Iowa Scholarship for the Arts was established in conjunction with the State of Iowa’s Homecoming ’86 celebration when world-renowned opera singer Simon Estes held a benefit concert. From 1986 to 1994, IAC awarded scholarships to more than 20 undergraduate students who excelled in the arts.
By 1994, most of the funds raised from the benefit concert had been expended. Two years later, IAC established an endowment to guarantee perpetual funding of the program. Initial partners who contributed funds to establish the endowment included Two Rivers Arts Festival and Raccoon River Brewing Company in Des Moines, the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs, and private donations by Iowa Arts Council board members and private citizens.
“Members of the public are invited to contribute to the scholarship fund,” IAC Administrator Mary Sundet Jones said. “We would love to build this fund so we can develop this scholarship opportunity as a substantial way to support students pursuing a career in the arts.”
The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts through leadership, grants and technical assistance. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts.