Red Arrow Park, 920 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI, 53202.
CONTACT: Andy Nelson, Media Manager, (414) 475-8675, [email protected]
MILWAUKEE: Monday, September 18 — The 2017-18 school year is the Year of the Arts in Milwaukee Public Schools! MPS is proud to partner with Cre8MKE to bring expanded arts offerings to nearly 80,000 students across the district. On Thursday, September 21, MPS will formally introduce the Year of the Arts to the city of Milwaukee.
WHERE
Red Arrow Park
920 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202
WHEN
Thursday, September 21 at 10:30 a.m.
We cordially invite you to learn, listen, see and taste how we’re redefining the MPS Experience for students, staff and the Milwaukee community through Year of the Arts. Hear about the impact of this initiative, experience student performances – dance, jazz, spoken word, and drumlines – take in the sights of the outdoor art gallery showcasing the creativity of our youth, and sample complimentary refreshments provided by MPS culinary arts students.
Superintendent Darienne Driver, Summerfest CEO Don Smiley and Milwaukee Alderman and Chair of the Milwaukee Arts Board Michael Murphy will be in attendance to speak about the impact on students, businesses and the city.
In addition, acclaimed creative professionals from the national Turnaround Arts program will be on hand in support. Those artists include:
- Jacqueline Suskin, poet
- Larisa Martinez, opera singer
- Johnny Nunez, celebrity photographer
- Speech, rapper and musician with Arrested Development
“The arts are about more than drawing, painting and singing in the classroom,” said Superintendent Driver. “The arts teach problem solving, persistence and discipline while allowing self-expression. When students have the arts in their lives, the journey of growing up is enhanced by the opportunity for students to discover who they are and what their dreams look like.”
ABOUT YEAR OF THE ARTS
Year of the Arts is a 2017-2018 Milwaukee Public Schools and Cre8MKE collaborative campaign to raise awareness of, reflect upon, draw connections to, and build support for arts education assets and resources in MPS. Year of the Arts activities include a student logo design competition, launch celebrations, release of a local study on arts education, the creation of a Year of the Arts plan at every school, a city-wide student/family passport to the arts, increased arts integration and creative strategy professional development for MPS teachers, increased community arts partnerships across the district, a continued spotlight on our Turnaround Arts schools, and a culminating arts festival.
Official website for MPS Year of the arts: mpsmke.com/yota
