For the third year in a row, PUSD proudly took part in Poetry Out Loud, a National Recitation Contest. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation created Poetry Out Loud in 2005. State arts agencies throughout the country - including the California Arts Council - bring Poetry Out Loud to each state, with more than 300,000 high school students participating annually.

Poetry Out Loud begins at the classroom level and winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals. Students from John Muir High School and Marshall Fundamental School competed against one another by reciting classic and contemporary poems from memory.

The school winner from Marshall Fundamental School was sophomore Aida Woldegiorgis who recited the poems “Romance” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes. Brianna Atkins was the runner-up. John Muir High School Senior Jaliya Quinones won first place at her school with “Solitude” by Ella Wheeler and “Self-Portrait” by Robert Creeley. Runners-up were Juan Jauregui Boyd and Katharine Bradley. Teachers Armine Iknadossian, at Marshall Fundamental, and Carlene Browne-Hart, John Muir High School lead the program at their school sites.

On January 20, 2010, school winners went on to compete against one another at the District Finals. PUSD Arts Education Coordinator, Marshall Ayers served as master of ceremonies for the competition, which was judged by a panel consisting of Dr. Kathy Onoye, Executive Director Elementary, Bridget Lloyd, Director of Education Theatre 360, and teacher and writer Amy Froeschle, of Webster Elementary. Both students scored high marks with powerful and moving recitations of their chosen poems, with Aida Woldegiorgis winning first place. She will represent PUSD and compete at the L.A. County Finals on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at The Actor’s Gang Theatre in Culver City. The Pasadena Board of Education will recognize all the winners and runner-ups on February 9, 2010 at 6 pm.

                                                     Students, Teachers, and Judges at District Finals

On Behalf of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs: Request for Qualifications Environmental Artists Pre-Qualified List

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is seeking to establish a pre-qualified list of artists with experience in developing environmental art installations and or design solutions related to sustainable principles and practices for upcoming City projects. City projects may include: air treatment facilities, open spaces, waste collection and/or storm waters management systems, to name a few.

The DCA manages the City of Los Angeles Public Percent-for-Art Program. By funding and partnering with the City's arts and cultural nonprofit communities, DCA supports the creativity of our local artists. DCA stimulates and fosters quality arts and cultural experiences throughout the City's diverse neighborhoods. DCA's commitment to the arts includes programming at our community art centers, in addition to our grants, marketing, public art, and youth arts and education programs.

Criteria

Artists must demonstrate the professional capacity to oversee the design, fabrication, and installation of environmental art installations for the public buildings and sites. Artists must also demonstrate the ability to work in collaboration with project teams, including architects, landscape architects, engineers, fabricators, scientists, and general contractors. Artists must be available for meetings with the design team and/or principals of the project, City advisory committees, and the public. Artists may apply individually or as a team. Artist teams may not change over the life of the project.
 

Budget

Budgets for individual projects may range from $5,000 to $150,000. Project budgets are all-inclusive and intended to cover the cost of design, fabrication, and installation.

Eligibility

This Request for Qualifications is open to professional artists/artist teams residing in California. Artists with a strong desire to help the public think about solutions to environmental problems in new ways are strongly encouraged to apply. Employees of the City of Los Angeles are ineligible to apply.
 

Submittal Guidelines and Deadline:

Deadline: Monday, February 22nd, 2010
 

Completed applications may be hand-delivered by 5:00 p.m., Monday, February 22nd, 2010, or postmarked by the U.S. Post Office, UPS, Federal Express, or similar delivery service no later than 12:00 midnight, February 22nd, 2010. The Department of Cultural Affairs strongly recommends obtaining proof of mailing. All incomplete applications or submissions postmarked after February 22nd will be returned to the sender.

For more information about submission, guidelines, or to obtain a copy of the RFQ please contact:

Department of Cultural Affairs, Public Art Division
213.202.5544

Ligeia Gorre

Ligeia.Gorre@lacity.org Or

Pauline Kamiyama

Pauline.Kamiyama@lacity.org