Fourth Annual Literacy and the Arts Conference

March 20, 2002

PITTSBURGH—The Fourth Annual Spring Conference on Literacy and the Arts, sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Western Pennsylvania Writing Project and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside.

The conference will feature keynote speaker Lily Yeh, artist and founder of the Village of Arts and Humanities, and special presenter Mathias "Spider" Schergen, an arts specialist at the Chicago Public Schools. Yeh will present a daylong workshop titled "Art Making and Community Building," and Schergen will lead a morning workshop titled "Inside the Memory Museum."

Participants will discover ways to make the arts a central part of students' experiences by integrating creative activities with writing and academic subjects. Workshops throughout the day will provide teaching suggestions and hands-on experience. Educators can earn Act 48 hours for participation in the workshops.

Schergen's "Memory Museum" workshop will feature students from the Jenner School who created an installation piece featuring memories of their school before its demolition, and suggestions on how teachers can create a similar project and use it as a basis for writing reflection.

Following the conference, a reception will be held during which colleagues can discuss new ideas.

The University of Pittsburgh, The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and Kraft Foods, Inc. are the Literacy and the Arts Conference supporters.

For a workshop schedule, visit www.pitt.edu/~wpwp/workshops2002.html, or for more information, contact Clare Gallagher at 412/624-6631.

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