3MY Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport

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MAAP Celebrates National Arts Advocacy Day With Local Art

Mar 01, 2016

Peoria, IL — The Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria (MAAP) will unveil eight aviation-themed pieces of art created by area high school students in support of national Art Advocacy Day, March 7–8 in Washington, D.C.

The art will be revealed at noon, March 8 at Mount Hawley Airport, 1320 W. Bird Blvd. in Peoria. The following high schools participated: Dunlap, Illinois Valley Central, Limestone, Manual, Peoria Central, Peoria Christian, Princeville and Richwoods.

Arts Advocacy Day, hosted by Americans for the Arts and more than 85 other national arts organizations, was created to underscore the importance of strong public policies and public funding for the arts.

"For the last several years, we have invited our area high schools to create a piece of aviation-inspired art to grace the walls of our terminal. We provide the materials, but the sky is the limit when it comes to their creativity," said Karen Jensen, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria, the governing body of both the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport and Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport.

"We chose Mount Hawley airport as the venue this year because, as a public use airport, this is a facility that truly embodies the free spirit and creativity of aviation — something we hope inspired these students."

Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit for advancing the arts and arts education. In addition to advocacy, it compiles research on the benefits of arts in education, including the development of greater analytical and critical-thinking skills.

"Our participating schools tell us they appreciate this collaborative opportunity that results in the students having a venue for their work that can be seen by hundreds of thousands of people," said Director of Airports Gene Olson.

This year's art will initially be on display at Mount Hawley airport, but then transferred to the Peoria International terminal. In 2015, more than 640,000 passengers passed through PIA.

"It gives them experiences in research, organization, problem solving and technical skills for a real world project," said Dennis Tracy, art teacher for Peoria Christian High School. "And it's good PR for the school. It's a lot of fun for me, guiding and watching them work together."

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