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REMARKS BY:  	DONNA E.SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
PLACE:		Scholastic Art and Writing Awards White House, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		June 18, 1999
Remaining True to the Creative Spirit

 
On behalf of the President and Mrs. Clinton, I want to welcome this year's "Scholastic Arts and Writing 
Award" winners, your families and teachers, to the White House. I really can't think of a more fitting place 
to hold this ceremony than here in the Sculpture Garden. Surrounded by these masterpieces, we're 
reminded of the power of art to enrich us and entertain us. We're reminded that it's art-whether powerful 
images or persuasive words-that adds so much color to life's palette of experience. And, more than 
anything else, we're reminded that art is the physical expression of the human spirit.of the creative spirit.


As award winners, all of you have already demonstrated that creative spirit. Through your work, you have 
shown us a little more about yourselves-and ourselves.a little more about your experience-and the 
human experience.a little more about what is imagined-and what is real. And whether you've put 
brushstrokes on canvas or words on paper, you've brought your skills and your passion together to create 
masterpieces. 


I challenge you to always cultivate your skills. To celebrate your gifts.  And to never diverge from your line 
of talent. This is easier said then done. Pablo Picasso once suggested that it was easy to become an artist-
but very difficult to remain one. The work of an artist continually demands both your intellect and your 
imagination.your skills and your spirit .your head and your heart. And you may face barriers and road 
blocks on your professional journey. But as Henry David Thoreau once said: "If [you] advance confidently 
in the direction of [your] dreams, and endeavor to live the life which [you] have imagined, [you] will meet 
with a success unexpected in common hours."  All of you are following in the footsteps of former award 
winners such as Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Redford-and I have no doubt that-if you remain true to 
your creative spirit-one day you will not only meet with success-you will leave your own footprints 
behind.


Your achievements already prove that you have the ability-and I applaud those accomplishments that 
brought you here today. I also applaud Scholastic for having the vision to inaugurate these "Arts and 
Writing Awards" 76 years ago, and for your continued support of young artists. Finally, I applaud the 
Creative Coalition, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, and Scholastic for forming a partnership to 
advocate arts education. 


The President and Vice-President-as well as the First Lady-are committed to the arts in America-and 
the arts in education. And as a former educator, I truly understand the importance of keeping the arts in our 
schools. I know that children exposed to the arts do better in academics.and that young people who are 
involved in positive activities are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. I know that it's important to give 
students outlets for creative expression. And I know that we must educate the whole child.


But more than anything I could say, the 18 award winners we have with us today truly demonstrate the 
importance of arts education. We must continue our support so that their voices-the voices of artistic 
expression-are never silenced.

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