Editor’s Note: Chairman Chu is available for short one-on-one interviews. Media should contact Liz Auclair at auclaire@arts.gov or 202-682-5744 if they would like to attend or request an interview with Chairman Chu.

During a visit to Austin, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Jane Chu will visit the Blackshear Elementary School Fine Arts Academy. The visit is to learn more about an NEA-supported effort by Austin ISD, Mindpop and the City of Austin to increase access to arts education for students. The chairman is in town to participate in a conversation about the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, hosted by the LBJ Library.

Who: Jane Chu, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts; Brent Hasty, executive director, MINDPOP; Gina Hinajosa, AISD School Board President; Greg Goodman, director of Fine Arts, AISD; Laura Esparza, manager, city of Austin History, Arts and Nature Division School District; and Yesenia Harrington, manager, AISD Creative Learning Initiative.

What: Chu will visit Blackshear to learn more about Austin’s Creative Learning Initiative, an effort to provide a quality, arts-rich education for each and every child in AISD. As part of this visit, Chu will tour three classrooms to see the three foundational elements of the Creative Learning Initiative in action: arts learning, creative teaching across the curriculum and community arts partnerships. After visiting these classrooms, she will meet with Austin leaders dedicated to increasing access and equity to the arts.

When: 9 a.m. Dec. 8

Where: Blackshear Elementary School Fine Arts Academy, 1712 E. 11th St.

Background: In 2015, the NEA awarded a grant to AISD to support this project, one of the collective impact projects the NEA is currently supporting with the goal of ensuring all students across entire schools, school districts, and/or states participate in the arts over time.

For more information, please visit the NEA website.

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About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016. Go to the 50th section at arts.gov to enjoy art stories from around the nation, peruse the Facts & Figures section, and check out the anniversary timeline.