NEW ARTS RESEARCH CONFERENCE AT COLUMBIA ON MAY 5
Top cultural policy researchers will come together to present and discuss the latest data at Measuring the Muse: Arts Research from the Frontlines, presented by the National Arts Journalism Program and the Alliance for the Arts, with support from The Wallace Foundation and the Columbia University Arts Initiative.

Arts professionals will hear presentations of new cultural policy research, including the RAND Corporation report "Gifts of the Muse," and the Center for an Urban Future report "New York City's Creative Sector: Building an Understanding and Strategy" and join a discussion with leading experts in the field. For more information, click here. Registration is required.

Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism
116th Street and Broadway
May 5, 2005
9 am-6:30 pm

FIRST ALLIANCE PRIZE TO BETH DEWOODY AND BILL RUDIN
The first Alliance for the Arts Prize will be presented to sister and brother cultural and civic leaders--Beth Rudin DeWoody and William C. Rudin at the Alliance's spring benefit on Tuesday, May 10. For more information about the benefit, click here.

ART IN MADISON SQUARE PARK
Sol Lewitt, Ursula von Rydingsvard and Roxy Paine have been commissioned to create new works by the Madison Square Park Conservancy. The commissions will appear over the next three years, beginning with Sol Lewitt opening on May 1. Lewitt's work will also be featured this summer by the Metropolitan Museum of Art on its roof-top sculpture garden. For more information, visit www.madisonsquarepark.org and www.metmuseum.org

EXIT ART CALL FOR CURATORS
Exit Art invites curators to organize risk-taking exhibitions for two new spaces--the Fast Track Gallery and Show Windows. Proposals can range from one-night presentations to longer exhibitions. Submissions will be accepted and read on an ongoing basis. For more information, visit www.exitart.org or e-mail fasttrack@exitart.org.

PEOPLE

Tom Eccles has been named executive director of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY beginning July 1. Mr. Eccles has been the director of the Public Art Fund since 1997.

CALENDAR

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
National Poetry Month brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets from around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. For National Poetry Month 2005, the Empire State Building will honor the Academy of American Poets with a special blue-and-white lighting to mark the 10th celebration of National Poetry Month. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the the City of New York has established Poem in Your Pocket Day. On April 21, New Yorkers are encouraged to carry poems in their pockets to share with others. That day, anyone who brings a poem to Bryant Park from 11 am to 2 pm will be given poetry books and bookmarks (while supplies last) by the Academy of American Poets. For more information, visit www.poets.org or www.nyc.gov/culture

CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE HEARING
The Finance Committee of the City Council will hold a series of hearings on the executive budget in mid-May. The Committee will first hear from all City agencies, including the Department of Cultural Affairs. A public session will follow the testimony of the agencies, where all organizations, including cultural institutions and groups may testify on the executive budget. The Finance Committee will announce the schedule of hearings, to be posted on the City Council Web site, www.nyccouncil.info

HIGH LINE EXHIBIT AT MoMA
The High Line, an exhibition from April 20 to July 18 at the Museum of Modern Art, presents the winning proposals for new public uses of the elevated railway in Lower Manhattan. The landscape designers Field Operations and the architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro were chosen through an international competition.

ACT UP ORAL HISTORY PROJECT PRESENTATION APRIL 14
Filmmaker and scholar Jim Hubbard and writer Sarah Schulman will discuss the ACT UP Oral History Project at New York University on April 14. To date, they have conducted 63 interviews with people active in the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. The talk takes place at 6:30 pm in the Fales Library--3rd floor, Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South at LaGuardia Place--and is free. For more information on the project, visit www.actuporalhistory.org.

CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN BROOKLYN
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden hosts the 24th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival on April 30 and May 1. Visitors can monitor the blooming status of these resplendent trees by accessing the garden's Cherry Watch Web site. Fore more information, click here.

LMCC TO HOST FALL CONFERENCE
From September 9 to 12 the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will host an international cultural gathering entitled Art and Recovery: An International Summit. The conference will explore the role of art and culture in the recovery of cities that have suffered terrorist attacks or civil war. For more information, visit www.lmcc.net