Biden: VAWA Will Keep A Bright Light Shining on Domestic Violence
Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who last year led a group of 53 of his colleagues in calling for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to send VAWA legislation to President Obama to be signed into law:
“Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act is an important step in our fight to keep a bright light shining on domestic violence.”
“Rates of domestic violence have dropped 64 percent in the 18 years since my father first introduced this landmark legislation, but we still have a lot of work left to do. Three women are killed every day in this country by abusive husbands or partners, and 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted in college. Reauthorizing VAWA will provide additional tools to reduce these statistics and save lives.”
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March for the Arts in Education Month: Empowering Youth through the Arts
Highlighting the importance of the arts in every child’s education, Governor Jack Markell introduces Empowering Youth through the Arts, a series of videos that document outstanding arts programs being offered in arts organizations and cultural centers across the state.
“There is something unique about the creative arts process that empowers children to realize their potential in whatever they choose to pursue in life,” Governor Markell said. “Youth involvement in the arts stimulates, strengthens, and develops the imagination and critical thinking skills. The arts motivate and engage children in learning and help level the field for learning across socio-economic boundaries.”
Each of the programs featured in the videos is supported in part through Delaware Division of the Arts grants. These programs demonstrate the vital role that Delaware arts organizations and community centers play in providing arts experiences that complement and enhance what students receive during the school day.
Video: Christina Cultural Arts Center: Arts for All
Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. (CCAC) is a premier community school of the arts with a mission to make affordable arts, education, multicultural, and live performance programs accessible to children, teens, and adults in a safe, family-centered environment. Programs encourage creative expression and lifelong learning; promote healthy lifestyles; build academic/social skills; support artists, and advocate for arts in schools representing lower socio-economic populations.
Video: El Centro Cultural: ¡Viva Arts!
El Centro Cultural partners with First State Community Action Agency’s La Casita after-school program to provide art education, art supplies, and bilingual teachers for a one-week summer arts camp to teach children about traditional music, dance, and art focusing on Mexico and Guatemala, and to prepare the students for presentations at Festival Hispano in Millsboro.
Video: Inner City Cultural League: Dancing and Dreaming
Founded in 1971 by Dover City Councilman Reuben Salters, The Inner City Cultural League, Inc. fulfills a need in the central Delaware community. The mission of the Inner City Cultural League, Inc. is to provide relevant cultural programs that will positively impact and improve the lives of less advantaged families–especially community youth–through the performing and visual arts that will awaken the genius within, ignite the human spirit, and create an awareness of the value of the arts in social, economic, and educational development.
Video: Rehoboth Art League: Have Art, Will Travel
In the early years of the Rehoboth Art League, founder Louise Chambers Corkran arranged for artists to work with disadvantaged children through the Children’s Beach House in Lewes. Today, in partnership with many organizations, the Rehoboth Art League sends artists throughout Sussex County to leverage the arts to enhance the quality of life for many. A special focus is working with children and elderly adults who do not have the resources to travel or take RAL classes. For many, this experience opens up a new world of opportunity for creative expression.
About March for the Arts in Education
Ten years ago, former Senator Dorinda A. Connor authored Senate Bill No. 116, designating the month of March as March for Arts in Education Month. Senator Conner envisioned a month devoted to celebrating arts education throughout the state–recognizing the critical role that the arts play in providing a well-rounded education for Delaware’s youth.
Governor Testifies on State Leadership and Innovation in Disability Employment
(Washington, D. C.) TheNational Governors AssociationChair Delaware Governor Jack Markell testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions for a hearing titled “State Leadership and Innovation in Disability Employment.”
Gov. Markell is focusing his yearlong Chair’s Initiative, A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities, on the employment challenges that affect individuals with intellectual and other disabilities and the roles both state governments and businesses can play in advancing employment opportunities for these individuals.
Governor Markell: Sequestration Cuts Would Hurt Delaware
(Washington, DC) The Governor issued the following statement following his meeting with President Obama at the White House today. Governor Markell was one of several Governors meeting with the President, after the conclusion of the Winter meeting of the National Governors Association which took place this weekend in Washington, D.C.
“We had a productive discussion with the President about the serious impact the sequester will have on our constituents, including in the areas of education, workforce development and public safety among others. In addition, governors are particularly concerned about the impact on the economy and on jobs in our states. The combination of cuts and the uncertainty that the current situation creates for businesses is troubling. Employers are holding back investments that could put people to work. Governors are problem solvers. We want to see these issues addressed in Washington in a way that creates certainty for employers and does not just shift costs to state governments.”
The Governor is concerned about the significant negative impact of sequestration. He has, with other Governors, called for Congress to work to enact balanced deficit reduction to avoid sequestration. The Governor led an NGA executive committee which met with the President and congressional leadership in December, emphasizing four key points in developing a balanced deficit reduction plan.
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1. Federal reforms should be designed to produce savings for both the federal government and states.
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2. Deficit reduction should not be accomplished by shifting costs to states or imposing unfunded mandates.
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3. In an effort to create efficiencies and achieve results, states should be given the ability to adjust to best meet the needs of their constituency.
4. Congress should not impose maintenance of effort provisions on states as a condition of funding.
For more information about how the sequestration cuts would affect Delaware, see the link below.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 24, 2013
White House Releases New State-by-State Reports on the Impacts of the Sequester
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the White House is releasing new state-by-state reports on the devastating impact the sequester will have on jobs and middle class families across the country if Congressional Republicans fail to compromise to avert the sequester by March 1st. The link to each state report can be found below:
Ellen Priest to Display Paintings Inspired by Jazz in the Mezzanine Gallery in March
Ellen Priest, Individual Artist Fellow in Painting, will present an exhibition of recent work in the Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery from March 1-28, 2013. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Friday, March 1 from 5-8 p.m. as part of Wilmington’s Art Loop.
This solo exhibition of Ellen Priest’s work will showcase mid-sized drawings and layered paintings from two series: the ‘Up Jumped Spring’ series based on Freddie Hubbard’s lyrical jazz waltz, and the Berklee Series “Jazz: Thinking Out Loud, Reaching for Song.” The Berklee Series is the result of a joint painting/jazz project with student composers at Berklee College of Music’s elite Global Jazz Institute.
Priest’s paintings are layered relief constructions made with superimposed layers of opaque and translucent papers, cut away in some sections, collaged with additional forms. The artist listens to the music many times and studies the score to create abstract brush studies painted while the music is playing; almost “choreographing” the forms. The resulting paintings embody a multi-layered space, sometimes open, sometimes dense, depending on the specific musical subject matter, full of color and light.
Priest, a Wilmington-based artist, graduated from the Yale Divinity School, CT and from Lawrence University, WI. She has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the region and is included in many private and public collections. To read more about the artist, visit her Individual Artist Fellowship page.
