FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2006

CINCINNATI, OH — Jack Louiso, Artistic Director of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, is one of only seven winners statewide selected for the prestigious 2006 Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio. Winners were selected from 57 nominations submitted by individuals and organizations from around the state. Mr. Louiso is the recipient in the Arts in Education category.

The Awards will be presented at a ceremony honoring winners and members of the Ohio Legislature hosted by the Ohio Arts Council and Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation on March 29, 2006 at 3:30 p.m. at The Capitol Theatre in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts in Columbus. Winners will receive an original work of art by Ohio fabric artist Sue Cavanaugh.

As the current Artistic Director of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, Jack Louiso drives the organization to fulfill its mission to support, nurture and provide a quality environment for the arts and arts education to flourish throughout southwest Ohio. Louiso has made contributions to advance arts education since he was 17, when he started his first of 10 dance studios. Since then he has been instrumental in creating new arts education initiatives that have had an impact not only locally and statewide, but nationally and internationally as well.

Through his work with The Children's Theatre and his experiences before that, Louiso has turned countless young people on to theatre and the arts. Under his supervision and vision, the company has produced 44 productions, 14 of which were world premiere works.

During the past 12 years, the company has increased the audience size from 22,000 to more than 80,000. In 2005, with the expansion of The Children's Theatre to include a new touring division known as ArtReach, audiences will expand to more than 250,000 each year.

Louiso served as Artistic Director of the internationally renowned School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, the first arts magnet school in the country, from 1975 - 1992. During his tenure, he directed productions that toured nationally, as well as to Europe and Japan. The school prospered under his direction, launching the successful careers of actors, singers, dancers, designers, stage technicians and business professionals.

Louiso began his professional career as a dancer in the Cincinnati Opera Ballet. He also served as the organization's choreographer for 35 years. In addition, he has choreographed for major opera companies, including New York City, Houston, Seattle, Honolulu and Philadelphia. He received a B.S. in Education and B.A.A. in Applied Arts at the University of Cincinnati, and he taught art in both Cincinnati and Kentucky public schools.

Jack Louiso is a tireless advocate of arts education and his work in the field has positively influenced thousands of school children. His belief and practice that art, fun and education must work hand-in-hand to cultivate young minds is helping to build generations of artists, arts patrons and successful business people.

The 2006 Governor's Awards Selection Committee, made up of Ohio Arts Council Board members, included committee chair Martha Burton (Portsmouth), Nancy Fernandez (Springboro), Charlotte Kessler (New Albany), Michael Radcliffe (Columbus), Susan Sofia (Columbus), Peggy Walter (Columbus) and Ginger Warner (Cincinnati).

More information about the Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio, including a full list of past winners, is available on the Ohio Arts Council Web site at www.oac.state.oh.us/events/GovAwards/.

The Governor's Awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with Arts Day, March 29, 2006. This daylong event demonstrating public value and support for the arts is sponsored by Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation. Arts Day will include an arts advocacy briefing, legislative visits, workshops, Statehouse tours and student exhibitions.

Arts Day was created to foster a greater awareness of the value of the arts in Ohio. Citizens are encouraged to participate in Arts Day by visiting with their state legislators and communicating the need for public support of the arts and arts education. Each year on Arts Day Columbus is filled with arts supporters sharing the importance of the arts in their communities. For more information or to learn how you can participate in Arts Day contact Ohio Citizens for the Arts at www.ohiocitizensforthearts.org or 614/221-4064.

The 2006 Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio and Arts Day are made possible by Carrabba's Italian Grill, Cinergy Foundation, and Ohio Government Telecommunications. Media sponsors include the Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, Ohio Cable Telecommunications, The Plain Dealer and Time Warner Cable.

Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation was formed in 1990 as a companion organization of the Ohio Citizens for the Arts, which was established in 1976. OCA is a volunteer, nonprofit grass roots organization working to increase public support of the arts in Ohio. Through the efforts of hundreds of individuals and arts and education organizations, Ohio Citizens for the Arts advocates on behalf of the Ohio Arts Council and the arts throughout the state.

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.

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