On September 29th, The Maxine Greene Foundation held its first public event at the Joyce Theatre in Manhattan.

Greene, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, said that her vision in launching this Foundation is to generate inquiry, imagination, and the creation of art works by diverse people. It was to do so with a sense of the deficiencies in our world and a desire to repair, wherever possible. Justice, equality, freedom: these are as important as the arts, and they can infuse each other, perhaps making some differences at a troubled time.

The Maxine Greene Foundation is concerned with supporting the creation of and informed appreciation of works that embody fresh social visions that move people to perceive alternative possibilities for the making of humane communities. The foundation directs its primary attention to the intersections among various modes of social action and engagements with the arts. Social imagination most often finds expression in diverse art forms: film, literature, theatre and dance.

At the inaugural event Sonia Sanchez, the award-winning poet, Markie Hancock, the Co-director of Maxine Greene Foundation, Reynold Levy, the President of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Agnes Gund, President Emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art, and TC President Levine, who made remarks introducing Maxine Greene, spoke about the Foundation and her remarkable contributions. Anna Deavere Smith, actor, performed an original piece for Greene, and Blondell Cummings and Arthur Aviles performed an original dance choreographed especially for Greene.

The evening also included the 2003 Greene Grants Award Ceremony, where five "everyday educators" received grants up to $10,000. These individuals were "people capable of inventiveness and went beyond the standardized and the ordinary, artists whose works embody fresh social visions, and individuals who radically challenge or alter the public's imagination around social policy issues."

The Foundation will also convene Scholar Groups annually to discuss and reinterpret selected Maxine Greene texts. In addition, the creation of a Web site featuring excerpts from Greene's recent papers and speeches, community bulletin boards for scholars, teachers and artists and foundation announcements and activities. The Web site will serve as a resource for Greene's current writings as well as a place where those who are interested in Greene's work can "congregate."

The Maxine Greene Foundation was formed as a private operating foundation in March 2003. For further information about Maxine Greene or the Foundation's mission, goals, calendar, news, and events visit The Maxine Greene Foundation.

Published Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003