PITT EVENT TO UNITE SCHOOLCHILDREN AND OLDER ARTISTS

PITTSBURGH, April 27 -- Hundreds of Western Pennsylvania schoolchildren will converge on the University of Pittsburgh from Tuesday,

May 2, through Thursday, May 4, for the 15th annual Intergenerational Arts Festival, at Pitt's William Pitt Union (WPU), 3959 Fifth Avenue. The event is organized by Generations Together, the University's program of intergenerational studies.

The theme of this year's festival, "The Word, the Sound and the Image: Literacy Through the Arts," was chosen in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Education's mandate for improving levels of literacy in our schools. Students in grades K-12 will be teamed with older artists through interactive workshop in drawing, international drumming, quilt design, drama, poetry, sculpture, cartooning, and folk crafts. The first two days of the festival will accommodate elementary students; middle and high school students will attend the final day.

Two live stage performances are scheduled each day by story tellers Robert Gore and Cathy Raphael, and the tap dancing duo, The Dancing Demons, two Hill District natives, ages 86 and 79, who have performed with Gregory Hines and at the Apollo Theater. Those performances take place in the WPU Assembly Room.

In addition, a "Literacy Through the Arts" exhibit will feature colorful interpretations linking images with the spoken and written word. The art, which will be displayed in the WPU Assembly Room May 2 - May 4, is created by festival participants as well as students who are unable to attend. A second exhibit, "Arts Across The Generations," will be on display at the Kimbo Gallery on the main floor of the WPU through May 26. These pieces were created by students in the classroom, under the guidance of older artists, throughout the past school year.

Organizers of the Intergenerational Arts Festival seek to provide a venue for cultural transfer across the generations; to improve students' understanding of the arts; to introduce students to the community's elder artists as role models, mentors and friends; and to provide the opportunity for older artists to share their creative skills.

FESTIVAL DAILY SCHEDULE

9:30 - 10:25 a.m.

Workshop I

10:30 - 11:25 a.m.

Workshop II

11:30 a.m. - 12 noon

Stage Performance

12 noon - 12:35 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 - 1:25 p.m.

Workshop III

1:30 - 2 p.m.

Stage Performance

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