News Release - February 20, 2002

News Release

February 20, 2002

Partner sought for street painting festival

The Children’s Creative Project (CCP), the arts education organization that has coordinated the annual I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties for more than 10 years, announced it is seeking a nonprofit organization or community service group to produce this year’s festival in San Luis Obispo County.

The festival has traditionally been held during the last weekend of April, but a later date could be arranged, according to CCP Director Kathy Koury.

The goal is to find an organization that would coordinate and produce the festival while retaining the mission of supporting arts education programs for school children through a portion of the festival’s proceeds, she said.

The I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival was first created as a fund-raiser for those efforts and the hope is to continue with that mission.

“The Children’s Creative Project hopes to find a nonprofit group that will honor its many years of effort to serve young people throughout the county with quality arts experiences,” she said. “It is our goal to continue the tradition of using a portion of the street painting festival proceeds to support the arts education programs in local schools,” she explained.

After the CCP’s long-time coordinator of the San Luis Obispo festival resigned in July to pursue other career goals, the CCP worked to hire another coordinator based in San Luis Obispo County to run the festival. The search was unsuccessful and the CCP decided instead to collaborate with a local nonprofit organization, according to Koury.

The CCP subsequently sought a collaboration with the San Luis Obispo Arts Council, but an agreement could not be reached, according to Koury.

Since first producing the I Madonnari Italian Festival in San Luis Obispo 10 yeas ago, the CCP has raised an average of $15,000 per year in net proceeds. The funds have been used for a $100 arts credit offered annually to public schools in the county to help pay for touring artist performance fees. Last year alone, 24,000 students in 53 county schools, experienced 222 cultural performances presented by these touring artist companies, according to Koury.

In addition to the Touring Artist Program, the CCP provides a resident artist program, which has placed artists in San Luis Obispo County classrooms since 1987. Last year, San Luis Obispo artists presented 3,568 visual and performing arts workshops for elementary classrooms in 23 schools, according to CCP records.
Organizations or individuals interested in producing the festival and continuing the tradition of supporting arts education throughout San Luis Obispo County were asked to contact Koury directly at (805) 569-3873, ext. 102.

The Children’s Creative Project, established in 1974, is a nonprofit arts education organization coordinated through the Santa Barbara County Education Office.

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