OHIO STATE AND KING ARTS COMPLEX OFFER ART CLASSES

OHIO STATE AND KING ARTS COMPLEX OFFER ARTS INSTRUCTION


     Children who live in the immediate neighborhoods surrounding
the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex,
867 Mt. Vernon Ave., are encouraged to participate in a citywide
program of free music and arts instruction after school.

     Parents who have children enrolled in either elementary or
middle school can register their children for the Martin Luther
King Jr. Institute of the Arts, which is housed in the King Arts
Complex.

     "We are tying to get kids who live in the immediate area of
the King Arts Complex to participate in the program,"  said
Farrell J. Foreman, institute coordinator.

     Founded in 1990, the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute of the
Arts is a joint project between The Ohio State University's
College of the Arts and the King Arts Complex.

     The program provides multicultural arts instruction for
urban youngsters who live in the Columbus area.  About 150 young
people currently are enrolled.

     Classes are offered in the visual arts, jazz and modern
dance, theater, instrumental music and basic musicianship using
electronic keyboards and the latest technology.

     The classes are taught by graduate students in the College
of the Arts.

     "The goal of this program is to train teachers who will go
out and teach in multicultural settings in our schools," said Don
Harris, dean of the College of the Arts.  "This can only be done
at the level where it is important, that's with our children."

     The youngsters are selected for the program based on their
talents and interests and the recommendations of their elementary
and middle school teachers.  Transportation is provided for
students from their home schools to the King Arts Complex.

     Parents, however, must provide transportation home at the
end of each class session.

     "We are constantly recruiting kids," explains Foreman.
"There are plenty of kids in this neighborhood, but it's a matter
of letting them know what we do, what we offer.  These are kids I
want to reach."

     Foreman, who was named institute coordinator last May, holds
a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater from the University of
California-San Diego and a bachelor's degree in elementary
education from Antioch University in Philadelphia.  He has
directed university and community theater productions and has
written screen plays, short stories and poetry.

     Foreman's spouse, Sandra M. Sidney, came with him to
Columbus where she holds an appointment as adjunct faculty member
in the Department of Theatre at Ohio State.

     Ohio State recently received the Keeper of the Culture
Award, one of the prestigous Dream Awards presented by the King
Arts Complex.  The university was recognized for activities in
three programs: the College of the Arts' involvement with the
Martin Luther King Jr. Institute of the Arts, the Wexner Center
for the Arts and the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Culture Center.

     The King Arts Complex is a cultural institution with a
multi-faceted approach to exploring the African-American
experience through performing arts productions, visual arts
exhibits, and culturally-based educational activities.

     For more information on the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute
of the Arts, contact Farrell Foreman at 292-5171 or 252-5464.

                                #

Written by Reggie Anglen.


[Submitted by: STERRETT  (sterrett@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Thu, 30 Dec 1993 16:48:56 -0500 (EST)]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.