Mobile, multimedia exhibit celebrates first national Arts in Education Week

The Right Brain Initiative exhibits at Portland Public Schools and Portland Children’s Museum, celebrating local creative learning in area school systems

Show + Tell
A traveling multimedia exhibit from The Right Brain Initiative

Portland Public Schools Blanchard Education Service Center
501 N Dixon Street, Portland OR
Exhibit open 8am – 5pm Thurs, Sept. 9 and Fri, Sept. 10, 2010
11am – 8:00pm Mon, Sept. 13, 2010

Portland Children’s Museum
4015 SW Canyon Road, Portland OR
Exhibit open Tues, Sept. 14 – Sun, Oct 3, 2010
9am – 5pm Tues-Sun; 9am-8pm Thurs
Exhibit sponsor: PODS of Portland - SW Washington

September 12 -18, 2010 is set to be the first national Arts in Education Week, as decreed by the U.S. Congress in July. In honor of this occasion, The Right Brain Initiative, a local K-8 arts education program, presents its traveling exhibit Show + Tell at partner district Portland Public Schools’ (PPS) Blanchard Education Service Center September 9-13. Housed in an 8x16’ portable storage container, Show + Tell showcases samples from creative learning experiences brought to students by The Right Brain Initiative. Through still imagery, video and audio, Show + Tell demonstrates Right Brain’s unique collaborative approach to arts education through artist residencies customized to meet learning goals, and professional development for teachers and local artists. The exhibit illuminates the program’s current momentum in securing a permanent home for the arts in the area’s public schools.

PPS hosts this exhibit in conjunction with the September 13 school board meeting, which begins at 5:30pm at the Blanchard Center. Staff of The Right Brain Initiative will make their first program update to the full board that evening. PPS currently supports Right Brain’s programming at 11 elementary schools throughout the city.

Tuesday, September 14, the exhibit will move to the Portland Children’s Museum for a three-week run. The Museum, a Right Brain arts provider, worked in partnership with the Initiative at East Orient Elementary (Gresham), Markham Elementary (SW Portland) and Rigler K-8 School (NE Portland) during the 2009-10 school year, enhancing students’ observational skills and knowledge of science through visual arts.

In an era of strict budget cuts to local school systems, The Right Brain Initiative, PPS and the Portland Children’s Museum celebrate this unique and successful solution to arts education shortfalls. Launched in 2008 and managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, The Right Brain Initiative receives investment from not only the school districts it serves, but also from local governments, private businesses and foundations, and individuals.

Other current partners of The Right Brain Initiative are Gresham-Barlow, Hillsboro, and North Clackamas School Districts. The Initiative will serve a total of 25 schools in 2010-11 school year. With a long-term vision to serve all K-8 students in the Portland region’s 25 school districts, The Right Brain Initiative strives to ensure equitable access to the arts.

The Show + Tell exhibit launched in June 2010. Past locations include the PDX Bridge Festival, Alberta Street Fair and the public Ledding Library in Milwaukie. It will continue to travel throughout the fall of 2010. Use of the storage container, and its transportation, are generously donated by PODS of Portland - SW Washington.

About The Right Brain Initiative
The Right Brain Initiative is a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community, which launched its programming in Portland area classrooms in January 2009. The program’s goal is to achieve a measurable impact on learning by integrating the community’s arts and cultural resources into the education of every K-8 student in the Portland metropolitan region’s school districts. The Right Brain Initiative is a project of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, with Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington serving as Implementation Partner. Read more online at www.TheRightBrainInitiative.org; Blog www.The RightBrainInitiative.wordpress.com.

About Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC)
RACC is a nonprofit arts services organization serving the Portland metropolitan area, including Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. In addition to serving as the managing partner for The Right Brain Initiative, RACC provides grants for artists, arts organizations, schools and other community-based arts projects; conducts workplace giving for arts and culture (“Work for Art”) and other advocacy efforts; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance; shares printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrates artwork into public places. Read more online at www.racc.org.