May. 22, 2019
BELLE VERNON – Rep. Bud Cook (R-Washington/Fayette) will be participating in the second annual Rural Arts Collaborative (RAC) Spring Institute on Thursday May 23, beginning at 8:30 am, at the Frederick L. Smeigh Education Center at Frazier Middle School,
142 Constitution Avenue, Perryopolis.
The Fayette County Cultural Trust offers this Arts Education project with funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to place teaching artists in residencies in multiple school districts throughout Southwestern PA counties. The funds are made available to the school districts through the Rural Arts Collaborative (RAC) Arts Education Project.
“Due to the generous financial support of the Benedum Foundation, the cost for implementing these outstanding residential artist education programs for taxpayers is absolutely zero,” said Cook. “Again, I would personally like to thank the Benedum Foundation for generously investing to improve our region’s quality of life and supplementing our efforts to attract both employers and employees to the 49th Legislative District.”
Project outcomes result in some form of public art, albeit visual arts, installations or performance art. The Spring Institute event is a gathering of artists, educators and students to showcase their year-long project outcomes.
Dr. William Henderson, Superintendent of Frazier School District remarked: “I am deeply grateful to the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, to the Fayette County Cultural Trust and to the Rural Arts Collaborative and Carmelle Nickens, creator of the RAC project, for bringing this project to our district to help support our students through collaboration and creativity, and giving them these amazing opportunities in the arts that positively impact academic achievement.”
James V. Denova, Vice President of the Benedum Foundation stated: “This is the type of project that is at the heart of what Benedum is pleased to fund – one that will robustly support the existing arts education curriculum in schools and positively impact the student experience developmentally and cognitively, while simultaneously enhancing the community with public art that is student produced.”
The Benedum Foundation is dedicated to encouraging human development through strategically placed charitable resources in Southwestern PA and West Virginia. Over the years the Foundation has authorized grants totaling more than $410 million.
49th Legislative District
Representative Bud Cook
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: 724.929.2660
RepBudCook.com /
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