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In the Spotlight...
Grinnell-Newburg School Board Honored for Arts Support
At the 60th Annual Convention of Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) in
Des Moines November 17, Grinnell-Newburg School Board was honored for outstanding
support of arts education. This annual award is made jointly by the Iowa Alliance
for Arts Education (IAAE) and IASB.
The Grinnell-Newburg Board was selected by a panel of arts educators from IAAE
for commitment to maintaining a strong K-12 arts education program. The panel
was impressed with the district-wide commitment to integrate the arts with academic
subjects such as reading, math and science. The panel also noted the district's
strong cooperation with the community to make the arts an integral part of school
and community life — the creation of a new performing arts auditorium is
evidence of that partnership.
Members of the Grinnell-Newburg School Board are: President Doug Cutchins,
Vice-President Kevin Kolbe, Vicki DeAngelo, Harriett Dickey-Chasins, Tom Dillman,
Wanda Sims and Julie Tabatabai. Grinnell-Newburg student Paige Honsbruch serves
as a student representative to the board. District Superintendent is David Stoakes.
The Iowa Arts Council congratulates the Board and the fine teachers in all the
arts at Grinnell-Newburg. They represent the high standards of instructional quality
that we aim for in all Iowa schools.
Bucktown Builds Davenport’s Creative Economy
Downtown
Davenport, Iowa, is experiencing a boon of recent cultural investments. Along
the Mississippi River, all within a five block corridor, is the new Figge Art
Museum, the River Music Experience and an innovative arts warehouse project recognized
by locals as simply “Bucktown.”
What is now known as the Bucktown Center for the Arts was once a turn-of-the-century warehouse in a neighborhood renowned for its speakeasies, dance halls and German music pavilions. In its heyday from the 1890s through the 1920s, familiar musicians such as Sarah Bernhardt, Bix Beiderbecke, Al Jolson and Louis Armstrong were featured performers.
Now, the Bucktown Center for the Arts houses retail shops, cooperative galleries, artist studios, cultural organizations and private loft-style condominiums. The Center is owned and operated by MidCoast Fine Arts, which received a 2005 Iowa Community Cultural Grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to aid in the building’s revitalization efforts.
“The Bucktown facility is allowing Iowa artists to share energy in achieving urban revitalization, re-establishing downtown retail, and uniting in the creation of a tourism destination,” said Dean Schroeder, executive director of MidCoast Fine Arts.
Since opening in July, Bucktown Center for the Arts has become a hub of activity with receptions, artist open houses and other special events. The project has been deemed remarkable not only for the number of artists located under one roof (100), but also for the level of partnership and support from community, funders and civic leaders.
“The ultimate success of this urban renewal model is found not just in the single building, but in its effect in restoring the Bucktown legend and in revitalizing the district as a whole,” Schroeder said.
To find out more about all the activities and artists at the Bucktown Center for the Arts, visit www.bucktownarts.com.
