FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2006

Contact: Sarah McGreer Hoyt
sarah@maaa.org

Four Missouri Communities Selected to Participate in OPI 2006

Mid-America Art Alliance (M-AAA), in conjunction with its partners the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO), has announced the participants for the 2006 Ozark Plateau Initiative (OPI). This year Forsyth, Stockton, Gainesville, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, will take part in this unique arts experience.

The OPI program was designed in 2005 to give smaller, underserved communities in the Ozarks region of Missouri opportunities to experience both the performing and visual arts offerings of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a regional non-profit arts organization based in Kansas City. OPI is made possible by M-AAA, the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program, and matching contributions from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

The first community to stage their OPI event is Stockton, which will be hosting Keep ‘em Flying: Everyday Life in a WWII Fighter Squadron from March 15 until April 15, 2006. This exhibition, which is comprised of 34 black and white photographs, tells the story of the 94th Fighter Squadron, First Fighter Group, Fifteenth Air Force. They were taken in Foggia, Italy, from May 1944 to December 1945 by Sergeant James Bertoglio, who was stationed with the 94th Fighter Squadron in Italy and assigned as the squadron photographer. In addition to the exhibition, on April 7, 2006, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra will perform music from the World War II-era in Stockton.

The other three OPI communities will also be hosting themed exhibitions and live performances in their area throughout the spring and summer. Please see the attached schedule for more information.

M-AAA Professional Development Associate Anne Lacey and Performing Arts Director Jim DeGood have traveled to each of the four communities to plan for the 2006 OPI events and to help the organizations that are presenting the activities set their goals. “It’s great to see these communities who have so few opportunities to bring in an arts event get excited about this project. We are thrilled to be able to work with them,” Lacey commented.

The mission of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, M-AAA’s partners in this venture, is to enhance the quality of life for Ozarks citizens now and for future generations. The Foundation created An Arts Patronage Initiative in 2002 in order to help raise more private funds to support arts in Missouri. Bucky Bowman, the director of An Arts Patronage said, “The Ozarks Plateau Initiative is the kind of creative partnership that is invaluable to our region. By partnering with Mid-America Arts Alliance, we can leverage our funds with their program’s financial support and staff expertise to create well-rounded arts experiences for our communities.”

Mary Kennedy McCabe, Executive Director of Mid-America Arts Alliance, said, “The Community Foundation of the Ozarks has done a great job thinking outside of the box in order to bring more arts opportunities to their region. Their original thinking allows programs like OPI to bring arts events to the underserved residents of the Ozarks. The Foundation should be applauded for their efforts.”

The mission of Mid-America Arts Alliance is to enrich communities through cultural experiences. Founded in 1972, it is governed by a board of directors drawn from its partner states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major support is for Mid-America Arts Alliance is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations.

Sac River Arts Council
Stockton, Missouri
Exhibition: Keep ‘Em Flying! Everyday Life in a WWII Fighter Squadron
March 15–April 15, 2006
Performance: Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, April 7, 2006

Forsyth Community Foundation
Forsyth, Missouri
Exhibition: Grand Ole Opry
March 17–April 17, 2006
Performance: Musician, Les Gilliam, April 4, 2006

Ozark County Community Foundation
Gainesville, Missouri
Exhibition: This Contest is for Real Hands: Rodeo Photographs of the 1930s
April 1 – April 30, 2006
Performance: Musician, Les Gilliam, April 25, 2006

The Claudia Foundation
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
Exhibition: Keep ‘Em Flying! Everyday Life in a WWII Fighter Squadron
June 26 – July 11, 2006
Performance: TBD

###