FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Drew
The Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center

773-561-7676

"Academics Applaud
Chicago Artists"

Art by Chicago artists and how they are using it to fight hatred on-line gave an international group of academics an eye full and something to think about at the University of Maryland recently. Chris Drew, Executive Director of the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center (UM-CAC), presented their website concept that features art from their eight year old "Screen Print Workshop for Artists" at a conference on "Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace" produced by the University of Maryland Cyberculture Working Group on May 5th.

UM-CAC has moved its "Screen Print Workshop for Artists" format to its web site by creating ART-ACT, the Anti-Racist T-shirt Art Contest Tour. ART-ACT is collecting art from artists from around the world. Below the artworks are found comments from the public, links to diversity related essays, articles and web sites. Included with this growing wealth of information is a growing list of solutions to hatred to help those facing hatred in their own communities. This is an idea whose time has come.

The UM-CAC has developed this concept without seed funding and continues to struggle to make it grow. The idea was well received at the conference where Mr. Drew was the only non-academic presenter accepted in their proposal process. UM-CAC hopes to show the results of this work-in-progress in the coming year at next year's conference and demonstrate the effectiveness of their contest and web site concept in countering hate. The text of the paper presented is available on-line at
http://www.art-teez.org/umdpaper.htm
for public viewing.

This project is supported by Chicago artists and small public donations.

- 30 -