National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman announced the kickoff of a national tour at the 2009 Grantmakers in the Arts conference yesterday, October 21, 2009. Over the next six months, the chairman will visit neighborhoods and towns throughout America to learn and highlight the ways that art can create jobs, stimulate the economy and revitalize communities.

The national tour will begin on Friday, November 6 with a visit to Peoria, Illinois, which will include a roundtable discussion about the impact of the arts, a tour of Peoria's warehouse district and a performance of the musical Rent. The chairman will continue to St. Louis, Missouri, the week of November 23, 2009; to Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, the week of November 30, 2009; and to other states, including California, Idaho, Kentucky and Washington over the next several months.

To expand the dialogue, the NEA is hosting a blog at www.arts.gov where Americans can post examples and stories of how art works in their own communities. Chairman Landesman will also post dispatches from the "Art Works" tour on the Web site.

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