National Endowment of the Arts chairman making special trip to Visit The Heritage Center 

posted on November 8, 2011

The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School is pleased to announce a special visit by National Endowment of the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation's Heritage Center was recently awarded $110,000 from ArtPlace, a collaboration among 11 private foundations and several federal agencies. Chairman Landesman will get a tour of The Heritage Center’s permanent collection of 10,000 recently cataloged artifacts and meet local artists who sell their handcrafted pieces for resale at The Heritage Center’s gift shop.

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, “I am excited to visit the Heritage Center and for the opportunity to not only see first-hand the beautiful and distinctive work the local artists create, but to learn more about their efforts to use these artworks to revitalize and develop their community.”

“Chairman Landesman’s visit provides us the privileged opportunity to highlight the incredible artistic talent in the Pine Ridge area and allows us to share The Heritage Center's significance to our community’s economic development,” said Peter Strong, Director of The Heritage Center.

In conjunction with the National Endowment of the Arts visit, on Thursday, November 17, 2011, The Rapid City Arts Council at the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City, South Dakota will host a public panel discussion with several regional arts organizations entitled Creative Placemaking in the Black Hills Region. The panel begins at 10 a.m. with a reception to follow.

Pepper Massey of the Dahl Arts Center shared, "The panel discussion will give the Chairman a taste of the efforts of regional organizations that work in partnerships between both the public and private sectors to foster creativity and enhance the local quality of life, while celebrating the area's character and the many cultures that make up our region."

Additional support for the panel is provided by the South Dakotans for the Arts and the South Dakota Arts Council. South Dakota Arts Council support is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Art.

Previously announced for the first time on September 15, ArtPlace is an initiative of 11 of America’s top foundations including Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation and The Robina Foundation working in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts and seven federal agencies. Its aim is to drive revitalization across the country by putting the arts at the center of economic development.

ArtPlace has recently announced its first round of grants, investing $11.5 million in 34 locally initiated projects in cities from Honolulu to Miami, which included the $110,000 award to The Heritage Center. Each project supported by ArtPlace was selected for developing a new model of helping towns and cities thrive by strategically integrating artists and arts organizations into key local efforts in transportation, housing, community development, job creation and more.