News and Events Press Room Press Releases Young Audiences Announces First Showcase Event at Woodruff Arts Center

For Immediate Release:

YOUNG AUDIENCES ANNOUNCES FIRST SHOWCASE
EVENT AT WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER

July 25, 2005 (Atlanta) - Young Audiences (YA), the first new division to join the Woodruff Arts Center in more than 30 years, today announced its plans to host the annual YA Showcase event on the Woodruff Campus, offering educators, administrators and parents the opportunity to preview performances by more than 75 artists and ensembles. Showcase 2005 will take place on Wednesday, August 31 from 9 AM-1 PM, presenting artists performing simultaneously in six spaces within the campus’ Memorial Arts Building.

Showcase, a Young Audiences tradition for almost 20 years, gives the professional teaching artists that work with YA the chance to exhibit their art forms before the decision-makers that determine how to use precious dollars dedicated to the arts in education in Georgia classrooms. At the same time, the one-day preview provides education leaders and advocates an opportunity to observe each of YA’s artists in action in order to better plan in-school arts experiences for the coming school year. Additionally, the 2005 Showcase will include artist display areas in the Galleria, which will offer guests and YA artists the opportunity for face-to-face interaction and discussion about ways to work together to bring the arts into the lives of Georgia children.

The four-hour event will feature Young Audiences’ artists from a variety of disciplines, including Kuchipudi, Modern and West African dance; classical Western, Latino, Celtic, Russian and African music; traditional, improvisational and puppet theatre; storytelling; and visual arts encompassing painting, drawing, sculpting, photography, papermaking, fabric arts and more.

Participation in the Young Audiences Showcase is FREE. Online registration is available at www.yawac.org under Current Events.

Young Audiences
Since its inception in 1983, Young Audiences (YA) has sought to improve the life and education of every child through the arts. As one of 32 local affiliates of the national Young Audiences organization and the newest division of the Woodruff Arts Center, YA is Georgia’s leading provider of in-school educational arts programming, reaching approximately one million children during the 2004-2005 school year alone. YA supports excellence in education by providing curriculum-based, in-school educational arts experiences presented by a roster of more than 75 professional teaching artists in the disciplines of music, dance, visual art, and theatre. YA programs, available as assembly performances, workshops, and residencies, are developmentally appropriate for children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and provide authentic connections to the Georgia curriculum.

Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center opened its doors in 1968 and has grown into the largest performing and visual arts center in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines visual/performing arts along with an arts college on one campus. A not-for-profit organization, the Woodruff Arts Center is made up of the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta College of Art, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art, Young Audiences and the 14th Street Playhouse.

Contact: Amy Turner
Young Audiences
(404) 733-5308
amy.turner@woodruffcenter.org