On Thursday, May 1, 2003, from 5 to 7 pm, Dia Center for the Arts will open its sixth annual exhibition of works created by the New York City junior-high students affiliated with Dia's Arts Education Program. On view on the fifth floor of 535 West 22nd Street, the exhibition will remain open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 12 noon to 6 pm, through Sunday, May 11.

The works on view draw on the students' classroom studies in various subjects and on their visits to Dia's New York City exhibitions. Included in this presentation are sculptural works and paintings that respond to the issues of pattern, color, perception, and reflection present in the exhibitions Jo Baer: The Minimalist Years, 1960-1975, and Gerhard Richter and Jorge Pardo: Refraction; animated drawings and HTML projects inspired by Zombie & Mummy, Olia Lialina and Dragon Espenschied's project for the world wide web, commissioned by Dia as part of the Artist's Projects for the Web; and video, sound, and performative works inspired by visits to Rosemarie Trockel's site-specific video installation Spleen.

Arts Education Program
Initiated in 1993, the Arts Education Program offers participating students direct experience with contemporary art. The program introduces teachers and students to contemporary visual arts and poetry through visits to Dia's galleries and through lectures and studio visits with artists.

In 2002-2003 this year-long program reached eight junior-high teachers and their 200 students from public schools within Dia's vicinity. Providing direct support to teachers through training workshops and collaboration with teaching artists, the program aims to integrate arts education into diverse curricula, including Spanish, English, performance, and the humanities. The students, many of whom have little experience with contemporary art or museums as institutions, gain exposure to art through observation and hands-on creation and inspiration from repeat visits to Dia's galleries and cooperative work within the classroom.

Participating schools this year included the Chelsea School, the Clinton School for Artists & Writers, the High School for Environmental Studies, the Manhattan Academy of Technology, the New York City Museum School, the SALK School for Science, the School for the Physical City, and the School of the Future. Artists and organizations that participated in teacher workshops this season include artists Nina Katchadourian, Tim Rollins & K.O.S., and Stephen Vitiello; poet Martine Bellen; Charlotte Cohen, director of the Percent for Art program, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Electronic Arts Intermix; Eyebeam Atelier's A.I.R. program; and the Sackler Center for Arts Education at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Funding
Dia's Arts Education Program is supported by The Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation, Helena Rubinstein Foundation, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In-kind support has been provided by Bottino, Odwalla, and Sarabeth's.

Dia
Dia Art Foundation was founded in 1974. A nonprofit institution, Dia plays a vital role among visual arts organizations nationally and internationally by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving art projects, and by serving as a locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism. In addition to presenting exhibitions and public programming at Dia Center for the Arts, Dia maintains long-term, site-specific projects in the western United States, in New York City, and on Long Island. On May 18, 2003, Dia will open Dia:Beacon, a new museum in Beacon, New York, to house its renowned collection of contemporary art.

Exhibition hours at Dia Center for the Arts during the 2002-2003 season are Wednesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 6pm, through June 15, 2003.