Coalition Works to Support Arts in Education

It has been a celebrity filled weekend in Washington, D.C.
Coalition Works to Support Arts in Education
5/3/2010
Updated:
5/3/2010
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/EppsWaynes_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/EppsWaynes_medium.JPG" alt="Omar Epps (left) and Marlon Wayans( right) stop for a photo opp. before dashing into the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. The dinner followed the performance event, Art& Soul: Celebration of the American Spirit at the Library of Congress. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)" title="Omar Epps (left) and Marlon Wayans( right) stop for a photo opp. before dashing into the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. The dinner followed the performance event, Art& Soul: Celebration of the American Spirit at the Library of Congress. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-104673"/></a>
Omar Epps (left) and Marlon Wayans( right) stop for a photo opp. before dashing into the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. The dinner followed the performance event, Art& Soul: Celebration of the American Spirit at the Library of Congress. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)
WASHINGTON—It has been a celebrity filled weekend in Washington, D.C. The weekend’s events included the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and brought celebrities the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Steven Spielberg, and Donatella Versace to Washington.

Kicking off the weekend, the Creative Coalition held an invitation only gala event tribute to America’s cultural heritage on Thursday evening (April 29) at the Library of Congress. The event followed a one-day exhibition of photographs from the Art & Soul project by celebrity photographer Brian Smith in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress.

“Art & Soul is The Creative Coalition’s initiative that brings together today’s greatest artistic voices and storytellers to illuminate the importance—to every American—of support for the arts and efficacy of arts in education,” said Robin Bronk, Creative Coalition executive director on photographer Brian Smith’s blog. “We are proud to enlist the members of The Creative Coalition to bring arts to the top of the American agenda.”

The evening performance was written and produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Tom Fontana (“Oz”, “Homicide: Life on Street,” “St. Elsewhere”). It was headlined by actors and co-presidents of The Creative Coalition Tim Daly and Dana Delany.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CherylHines_medium.JPG"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CherylHines_medium.JPG" alt="Cheryl Hines seen at the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)" title="Cheryl Hines seen at the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-104674"/></a>
Cheryl Hines seen at the Creative Coalition dinner at the Hudson Bar and Grill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening, April 29. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times)
Performers included actor Adrian Grenier (“Entourage,” “The Devil Wears Prada”); actor CCH Pounder (“Avatar”); director Barry Levinson (“Wag The Dog”); actor Patricia Arquette; actor Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”); actor Omar Epps (“House”); actor Marlon Wayans (“White Chicks, Scary Movie”); actor Steven Weber (“Brothers & Sisters”); actor Richard Schiff (“The West Wing”); and director Spike Lee (“Do The Right Thing”), according to the event’s press release.

Featured performers were scheduled to join the Creative Coalition’s annual Arts Day on the Hill on Friday, April 30, where performers meet with members of Congress and the Obama administration to discuss the future of federal funding for the arts and arts education.

The portraits of artists included in the Art & Soul project include those of Anne Hathaway, Samuel L. Jackson, Alyssa Milano, Zooey Deschanel, and Tony Bennett. The portraits are accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each individual, expressing the positive impact that art has had on their lives. The exhibition includes 20 photographs.