Last night's forum was terrific!

As I said to everyone, while we had a true celebrity in Tiffany Jackson to speak (and sing!) to us, every one of you was a star last night. I thank all of you for your participation and opinions. Thanks to New Haven Academy, Youth Rights Media, and LEAP in particular for their young people. Please feel free to post a comment here, email me or call me with your comments about what happened last night. I'll post proceedings once I've received some of your feedback... but in the meantime, let me say that I was very impressed by my table. It fascinated me to see how quickly the topic question was dismissed; that is, no one questioned the value of making art -- the money wasn't important. But what was important to you was that schools should offer more art, that it shouldn't just be an elective or a once-a-week offering. You also said that the community in general should offer more opportunities for people, especially youth, to participate in the arts. The Greater New Haven area, you all declared, was definitely a better place with art. Please tell me more.

Tiffany Jackson is coming!

We are very pleased to announce that Tiffany Jackson will be joining us for the October 26th Forum. She is a New Havener who is making a living as a world-class soprano in opera, and is on the faculty of the Neighborhood Music School. Check out her brief bio on NMS's website here, and her more extensive one here.

It's here: Feedback from ECA students

Yesterday we had a meeting with students from the Educational Center for the Arts, asking them to react to our draft agenda. Boy, did we get a reaction -- fearlessly strong and thoughtful.

Below is the original draft, with comments from the students bracketed and in italics adjacent to or underneath the appropriate section. Do you agree with them?

AGENDA

5:30pm	Sign-In, Mingle	Assign everyone to one of two groups: (1) YOUTH; or (2) ADULTS. [MIX ADULTS AND YOUTH -- don't separate us.]
5:45pm	Welcome and Introductions	Welcome & Introductions. Review Agenda/ Expectations
5:55pm	Small Mixed Group Discussions (25 min.)	Small Group Discussions will be facilitated byDialogue Project volunteers. [CONSIDER USING DIFFERENT QUESTIONS TO BEGIN, E.G., WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT ART OR HOW DOES ART CHANGE YOUR LIFE?]
	Questions/Instructions for Small Mixed Group Discussions	First, review ground rules for discussion and ask if anyone wants to suggest additional ground rules.Then ask: TELL US ABOUT ONE OF YOUR BEST ART EXPERIENCES – EITHER AS ARTIST OR AUDIENCE – IN THE NEW HAVEN AREA. [HOW ABOUT WORST ART EXPERIENCE? AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO IMPROVE IT? WHAT IF YOU ARE NEW TO NEW HAVEN?]
6:20pm	Break	Tell participants to take a 5-minute break
6:30pm	Tiffany Jackson	Introduce Tiffany Jackson, who will speak for 10 minutes?; then answer questions for 10 minutes?
6:50pm	FORM TWO GROUPS: YOUTH & ADULTS Instructions for these Two Group Discussions (35 min.)	Distribute index cards and pens to participants. (1) Ask people to take 2-3 minutes to think about one of the following questions, and ask them to write their thoughts on the index card: (A) TELL US ABOUT AN ART EXPERIENCE THAT CHALLENGED A STEREOTYPE YOU HAD ABOUT A GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL; (B) TELL US ABOUT AN ART EXPERIENCE THAT HELPED YOU INTERACT WITH OR UNDERSTAND A GROUP OR AN INDIVIDUAL BETTER THAN YOU HAD BEFORE. [THE PRECEDING QUESTIONS AND THE THIRD ONE ARE TOO NARROW AND HEAVY-HANDED, CONSIDER REVISING.] (2) Ask people to share their thoughts, until everyone has shared at least once. (3) Ask for any additional thoughts people want to share about “stereotype-challenging” or “barrier- crossing” art experiences.
7:25pm	Thanks & Good-By	As people leave, collect their index cards; people can’t leave until they give you their card. [MAKE THIS OPTIONAL.]

October 26 Forum: If You Can't Make Money, Why Make Art?

We're back! Join us for a new dialogue to explore with our community's young people a new question:

If You Can't Make Money, Why Make Art?

Thursday, October 26, 2006
5:30 p.m.
ACES Educational Center for the Arts
55 Audubon Street, 2nd floor, New Haven, CT
See below for directions and parking

Refreshments and sandwiches will be served.

RSVP by Monday, October 23rd, 2006

Click here to register or call 777.2386 x444
Questions? Call Angel Fernández-Chavero, 777.2386 x216
Or by email, afernandez@cfgnh.org

This is the tenth in a series of donor-community conversations. And the third 2006 conversation with youth.

Tell us what you think NOW! Help us shape this forum. Give us your comments:

• Do you need art? Does art make a difference? What does art mean to you?
• Why study art in school? Should schools even teach art?
• Is making money the only good reason to become an artist?
• Is making money the wrong reason to become an artist?

Directions and Parking to

ACES Education Center for the Arts
55 Audubon Street
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 777-5451

DIRECTIONS
The Center is located on the corner of Audubon and Orange, across from The Community Foundation and Housing Authority offices. Use the Audubon Street entrance, immediately across the street from the parking garage.

FROM I-95
Take I-95 to I-91 North.
See I-91 instructions below.

FROM I-91
Take Exit 3.
At the end of the ramp, turn left onto Orange Street.
Turn right onto Grove Street.
Turn right onto Whitney Avenue.
Turn right onto Audubon Street.

PARKING:
The entrance to Audubon Court Parking Garage is located to your right as you come down Audubon Street, just before The Community Foundation building.