The International Theatre & Literacy Project Receives MacArthur Foundation Grant
The International Theatre & Literacy Project, in partnership with the Urban Gateways Center for Arts Education of Chicago, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation's Chicago International Connections Fund.
The grant will be used to fund a University of Dar a Salaam theater arts student from Tanzania joining Urban Gateways in Chicago this summer as a primary theater teaching artist, and allow an Urban Gateways teaching artist to join The International Theatre & Literacy Project's summer 2009 programs in Arusha, Tanzania.
ITLP and Urban Gateways use the power of the arts to open new educational horizons in school-based and community settings. Urban Gateways is the oldest and largest multidisciplinary arts organization in Chicago, and The International Theatre & Literacy Project is a leader in developing models of theater-based education in developing nations.
"ITLP has brought some of the most talented arts educators in the United States to East Africa, and having Urban Gateways join us is another great step forward," said Marianna Houston, ITLP's Executive Director, "but this is also the first opportunity we've had to bring an African artist to the United States -- that will be such an exciting experience for everyone involved."
"There is so much that we share about our missions," Julie Simpson, Executive Director of Urban Gateways said, "we're thrilled to welcome the new artistic perspectives that will come from an exchange with ITLP."
The MacArthur Foundation grant is another achievement in a year of strong growth for ITLP, which recently sent out acceptances for its 2009 teaching artist roster.
ITLP Partners with Teacher's College
ITLP has partnered with the Teachers College at Columbia University to produce a non-academic summary of its 2008 programs.
Intended to
highlight the strengths and address the weaknesses of ITLP's approach, Teacher's College will review ITLP's core curriculum as well as feedback from students, teachers, and teaching artists.
This is another important step forward in ITLP's objective of developing a standard model of
arts-based education that can be adapted to any underserved students in developing nations. Highlights from this report will be released on the ITLP web site --
if you would like to be notified when the results are available, please join our mailing list.
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