*EPF311 05/12/2004
Text: State Department Salutes Art in Embassies Program
(Laura Bush to host tribute to public-private partnership) (590)

The Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State, through which thousands of artists, galleries and museums across the United States have lent paintings, sculptures and other original works of art to U.S. Embassies for exhibition in ambassadorial residences, is about to mark four decades of success.

Paying tribute to the generosity of those in the art world who have participated in the program, first lady Laura Bush will host a White House event on May 17 that will bring together many of the donors and artists, whose support of this rare public-private partnership has kept it vibrant, making it a powerful tool for public diplomacy.

Following is the text of the press release announcing the event:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
May 10, 2004

MEDIA NOTE

Around the World in 40 Years: ART in Embassies Program Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

The Department of State's ART in Embassies Program, a unique public-private partnership that sends American art and artists around the world, will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 17 with a series of special events at the White House and Department of State. The success and longevity of the ART in Embassies Program comes from the strong support of the American art community. Over the past four decades, thousands of artists, galleries, museums, and collectors from across the nation have generously loaned their works for exhibitions in U.S. ambassadorial residences. With these events, the ART in Embassies Program recognizes their contribution.

The celebration will begin with a morning coffee at the White House hosted by First Lady Laura Bush. In the afternoon, lenders are invited to the Department of State for Art as Diplomacy: 21st Century Challenges, a panel discussion co-sponsored by the ART in Embassies Program and the independent, Washington-based, Center for Arts and Culture. This discussion will bring together members of the American art community and U.S. diplomats to consider the role of art and artists in public diplomacy as well as current challenges in that arena. Participants include: Charles Cowles, Karl Hofmann, Michael Kaiser, Adair Margo, Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Therman Statom, and Margaret Tutwiler, who will be making introductory remarks. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will conclude the day's celebration by hosting an evening reception in the Department of State's Diplomatic Reception Rooms. Secretary Powell will dedicate the recently published book, Art in Embassies: 40 Years, which includes an essay by award-winning writer Andrew Solomon.

In addition, Around the World in Forty Years, a sculpture exhibition highlighting American artists who have loaned to the ART in Embassies Program over the years, will be on view at the Department of State through July 6. Artists include: Louise Bourgeois, Dale Patrick Chihuly, Nancy Fried, Felix González-Torres, Joseph Havel, Bryan Hunt, Jesús Moroles, Bruce Nauman, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, John Ruppert, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Judith Shea, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Doug and Mike Starn, Therman Statom, James Surls, William Tucker, and Robert Wilson.

Established by the Department of State in 1964, the ART In Embassies Program is a global museum that exhibits original works of art by U.S. citizens in the public rooms of American diplomatic residences worldwide. These exhibitions play an important role in our nation's public diplomacy by providing international audiences with a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of American art and culture (http://aiep.state.gov).

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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