|
  |
||||||
| |||||||
For Immediate Release Contact: Awards Recognition Sustained Arts Leadership, Philanthropy, Creativity Governor Ted Kulongoski will recognize the extraordinary contributions made to the arts by Oregon citizen leaders and artists when he presents the 2004/05 Governor's Arts Awards in Salem on May 4, 2005. The 2004/05 awards will be bestowed on The Art Gym at Marylhurst University; collector and arts patron Richard Louis Brown of Portland; Salem fundraisers and volunteers Chris and Tom Neilsen; painter Henk Pander of Portland; James and Ginevra Ralph, philanthropists and activists in Eugene; arts patrons Joan and John Shipley of Portland; and ceramicist and educator Richard Rowland of Astoria. Former Portland Mayor Vera Katz will receive the Ron Schmidt Award, presented to an elected official who has made exemplary contributions to the arts in Oregon. "The Governor's Arts Awards honor Oregonians whose contributions to the arts have been exemplary," said Christine D'Arcy, Executive Director of the Arts Commission. "This year we honor artists and arts groups who've brought recognition to Oregon through their work. We honor citizen leaders like Richard Brown, Joan and John Shipley and Jim and Gineva Ralph whose generosity has moved others to invest in the arts. We salute Vera Katz for her sustained interest in and commitment to greater public support for the arts. It is fitting that we gather each year as a cultural community to pay tribute to their commitment." The Governor's Arts Awards were established in 1977 to recognize those individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the cultural life of Oregon. In 1993, the Oregon Arts Commission established the Ron Schmidt Leadership award to honor persons in public service who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in arts policy development and arts advocacy. Former Portland City Commissioner Mike Lindberg, former state legislator Tony Van Vliet of Corvallis and State Senator Betsy Johnson are among the previous recipients of this special honor. The 2004/2005 Awards celebrate the twenty-eighth presentation of the Governor's Arts Awards in Oregon. From early brief presentations in the Capitol Rotunda in Salem, to multi-media productions celebrating the award recipients and showcasing performing arts facilities in Eugene, Portland and Newport, the Governor's Arts awards are an annual celebration of the arts in Oregon. This year's presentation will take place May 4, at Willamette University's Hudson Hall in Salem. Selected for 2004/05 Governor's Arts Awards are: 2004/2005 Ron Schmidt Leadership Award Recipient: 2004-2005 Governor's Arts Awards Recipients: The Honorable Vera Katz, Portland The list of Vera Katz's accomplishments in support of the arts and culture is extensive. Long before becoming Mayor, Katz served a distinguished 10 terms in the Oregon Legislature, where she was a founder of Oregon's Percent for Art Program. That same dedication to the legacy of Oregon's public spaces and art-rich neighborhoods is evident throughout her leadership. Mayor Katz also has provided vision for significant assets to Portland's cultural life -- from the Classical Chinese Garden to recent public art gifts from Xi'an, China and Guadalajara, Mexico. As Mayor she secured special and substantial appropriations for The Portland Opera, Art Museum, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Oregon Symphony, emphasizing community outreach efforts, such as Symphony in the Parks and OBT Exposed. She led the City Council in its support for Portland Center Stage's armory rehabilitation. Most recently, Mayor Katz has been a champion for Portland's rapidly growing 'creative class'. She established a grant program to jump-start emerging careers; initiated the new Design Festival; and garnered special support for Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's TBA Festival. In her final weeks of office, Mayor Katz proposed a bold amendment to the City's Sign code, which, with the concurrence of City Council, has enabled murals once again to flourish in Portland. With such dedication to beautified public spaces, it is fitting that among the many 'thank you's' that the Mayor received upon leaving office, one notable surprise was a public art installation inspired by a work she had been impressed by on a visit to Venice, Italy. Mayor Katz has spent her life and career in Oregon imagining our state as a center of forward-thinking creative minds and creative spaces. To all of our benefit, she has accomplished so many of her goals. The Art Gym at Marylhurst University From the quiet, hundred-year-old Marylhurst University campus in the hills outside Portland, The Art Gym has become a regional leader in contemporary arts exhibition and publication. The gallery began as the vision of Kay Slusarenko, Chair of the Art Department from 1978-1998, who saw the potential of the unused college gymnasium. In collaboration with faculty members Terri Hopkins and Paul Sutinen, $1,500 and 400 labor hours from the community, the space was dedicated in 1980 to exhibitions and publications featuring art of the Pacific Northwest. Under the twenty-five year stewardship of Director and Curator Terri Hopkins, The Art Gym has showcased the work of more Northwest artists than any other institution either non-profit or commercial, offering equal time to mature, mid-career and emerging talents. Among those who have received shows at The Art Gym: Lee Kelly, Barbara Fealy, Terry Toedtemeier, Michele Russo, Sally Haley, Stephen Hayes, Judy Hill, D.E. May, Lucinda Parker, and Harrell Fletcher. With the curatorial talent of Hopkins as well as a host of distinguished guests, the gallery has mounted numerous group exhibitions tracing both thematic and stylistic veins. The Art Gym has served as a force in the collaborative machinery of the arts organizations and curatorial practices throughout the Northwest, sponsoring numerous events, forums and touring exhibitions. True to its mission to nurture the artists of our region, it has published 40 catalogues in support of its exhibitions. Many established artists had their first catalogs published there, and the essays included therein reflect the talented voices of the Northwest. The Art Gym's publication program benefits not only Oregon's artists and galleries but --more rare an achievement-- the critical and academic dialogue of an entire region. Richard Louis Brown, Collector and Arts Patron, Portland Richard Louis Brown is one of Oregon's most multi-faceted arts supporters. He is perhaps best known for his efforts to secure and preserve the architectural legacy of one of Oregon's foremost architects, John Yeon, regarded by many as the founder of the Northwest style. Mr. Brown is the owner of the justly famous Watzek House, which he has preserved and restored, and which he has donated to the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts. In addition, as head of a private foundation, Mr. Brown directed the donation of other Yeon properties and an endowment to the University. This remarkable gift will enable the school to establish two centers--one for architectural studies and one for landscape studies--and already funds a distinguished lecture series, faculty grants, and fellowships at the University. In the 1980s, Mr. Brown devoted much of his time to promotion of choral music. As volunteer manager of the Oregon Repertory Singers and the Portland Gay Men's Chorus, he helped elevate both the quality and the reach of Oregon's musical landscape, which he continues to support and nurture today. Mr. Brown serves on the Boards of a number of arts organizations, including the Portland Art Museum, Portland Center Stage, and Friends of Chamber Music. His patronage of these organizations has been creative, significant and lasting. As a member of the Art Museum's Collections committee, he has helped the museum acquire important works for its public collection, and frequently lends from his own collection to this and other museums. He is a quiet force behind community outreach. For example, when he learned that Portland State University students often felt they could not afford to visit the Art Museum, he personally established a fund to provide annual museum membership to 500 art students. Tom and Chris Neilsen, Arts Leaders and Volunteers, Salem Tom and Chris Neilsen have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Historic Elsinore Theatre for the past four years. They have given generously of their time, resources, expertise, business acumen and compassion, which led to the success of the monumental Return to Grandeur Campaign to raise $3.5 million for the restoration of the theatre. Both Tom and Chris Neilsen served on the Historic Elsinore Theatre board of directors. Tom took a leave of absence from the board to serve as the Elsinore's Executive Director at a very critical period. He used his political skills as former Mayor of Salem and his business skills as CEO of Neilsen Manufacturing to oversee the theatre's success with the community and programmatic endeavors. Chris Neilsen was also at the helm of Return to Grandeur, developing successful grant proposals, organizing the community fundraising effort and making hundreds of personal appeals for funds. Her hands-on attention to detail went so far as to include giving hardhat tours during construction. Salem's Elsinore Theatre opened in 1926 as a grand place to gather for live performances. The grand reopening of the 78 year old theatre after three years of renovations is indeed a 'return to grandeur' -- and would not have been accomplished without the leadership of Tom and Chris Neilsen working with hundreds of Salem citizens and business leaders. Henk Pander, Artist, Portland The subject of a number of museum exhibitions, including most recently a retrospective at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Henk Pander's work is represented in every important institutional collection in the Northwest. His vast body of work demonstrates the practiced eye of a watcher, from his remembered scenes of Nazi occupied Europe to the dramatic canvasses documenting the wreck of the New Carissa off the Oregon coast, to the many commissions for public agencies, to his recent drawings, photocollages and paintings created from his post 9/11 visit to Lower Manhattan. In the nearly four decades since Pander arrived in Portland, he has had a hand in shaping the local art community the city enjoys today. During the 60's and 70's, Pander made ink-drawn political and cultural posters for a variety of causes. He was a founding member of the alternative Storefront Theatre in 1970. Later, he was the force behind The Visual Chronicle, a Regional Arts & Culture Council project to document the city through the eyes and works of local artists. Modeled after Amsterdam's Topografiese Atlas, the collection now has 225 pieces, and continues to purchase work each year. In 1991, Pander was bestowed with the first-ever Oregon Arts Commission Master Artist Fellowship. Once a young faculty member at the Museum Art School, now Pacific Northwest College of Art, Pander taught alongside luminous names in Northwest art. Today he is that himself. James and Ginevra Ralph, Philanthropists and Arts Leaders, Eugene Ginevra and James Ralph have been leaders in community-wide support of the arts for over thirty years. In 1991, seeing a need for a fresh cultural venue featuring American music, James and Ginevra Ralph, along with friend Roger Saydack, founded the Oregon Festival of American Music, dedicated to showcasing American classical, traditional and classic jazz in a ten-day festival setting. Seeking to further expand recognition of musical genres and performing arts forms beyond traditional concert fare, they took the lead, with considerable risk, to create The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in a 65,000 square foot Baptist Church adapted to a performance space where professional jazz, Latin, classical, avant-garde, traditional and popular music is performed year-round. At The Shedd, professionals share the stage with "up and comers". The Ralph's, both former educators, emphasize education at The Shedd by offering lessons to all ages, special lectures, classes and symposiums. OFAM and The Shedd Institute have had a dramatic effect on Eugene's cultural life and the vibrancy of its downtown. The Ralph's generosity and energy extends far beyond OFAM. They are major supporters of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and have both served on its board of directors. They have supported and led Eugene Opera, which Ginevra helped found, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Eugene Symphony and a host of other civic and arts groups that have all helped build the cultural-savvy and vibrancy that allows the City of Eugene flourish both culturally and economically. John and Joan Shipley, Arts Patrons, Portland Joan and John Shipley have supported the success, growth and sustainability of dozens of organizations statewide through mindful service and generous financial contributions. The Shipleys support a large variety of arts organizations in the community, but are able to engage in each with thoughtful understanding of individual needs. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, where Joan was a founding board member, Literary Arts, The Sitka Center, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Chamber Music Northwest, Oregon College of Art & Craft, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art, to name a few, can attest to the depth of positive contributions the Shipleys have made to the Oregon arts community. Through their love for art and their staunch belief that creativity is the gateway to good citizenship and social productivity, the Shipleys create an atmosphere in which organizations feel connected to a wider like-minded network. This network includes the many artists who have benefited from this couple both directly, through privately funded fellowships, and indirectly, through the educational and advocacy organizations the Shipleys support. When the recent Core Sample needed a large exhibition space, Joan and John graciously lent a warehouse in southeast Portland to the cause. Be it through providing space, serving as board members for non-profit arts organizations, committee members for public arts panels, donating their knowledge or financial backing, or acting as gracious, enthusiastic audience members, Joan and John Shipley's leadership is a model for what community enjoyment and participation in the arts can mean. Richard Rowland, Ceramicist and Educator, Astoria The Head of the Arts Department at Clatsop Community College, Richard Rowland is a creator, teacher and innovator in the art of ceramics. Mr. Rowland's wood-fired Anagama dragon kiln has become a gathering point for artists and friends. Naturalist and former Art Award recipient Barry Lopez, in his short story, "Before the Temple of Fire", memorably wrote about it: "The kiln I keep in mind stands in a copse of red alder a few miles from the crossroads village of Chinook. It's misleading to say that someone owns the kiln, in the sense of possessing it like an automobile or a painting, but the man we shall call Jack is its chief interpreter. I'm inclined to call him the kiln's human companion, though paragraphs from now you may choose some other appellation. Local people call it Jack's kiln; or they say the Dragon Kiln, because sometimes flame lashes Gorgon-like from its side ports, because the cavity of its mouth roars white-orange when it's being fed, and because, over a three-day firing, its brick spine arches." As an engaged member of his community, Rowland led students to create replicas of Lady Liberty in support of the restoration of Astoria's Liberty Theatre. When the Clatsop County Women's Resource Center sought fundraising support, he donated 100 Anagama bowls fired in his dragon kiln. Richard Rowland's work has been exhibited throughout the region, including a recent one-person show at Astoria's Alderbrook Station. Always pursuing a deeper understanding of creative processes, Rowland plays an active role in not only Oregon's but the international ceramic community, arranging for visiting artists to bring their knowledge to his community, mindful that they will take with them lessons of his world. 2004/2005 Award Artist, Tom Prochaska Keeping with tradition, the Oregon Arts Commission each year invites a prominent Oregon artist to create award objects to be presented to Governor's Arts Award Honorees. Past award artists have included James Lavadour, Terry Toedtemeier, Laura Ross-Paul and Frank Boyden. This year, painter and printmaker Tom Prochaska has created eight unique landscape paintings. Tom Prochaska has been living and working in Portland for more than 20 years. As a long-time faculty member of Pacific Northwest College of Art, co-founder of community studio Atelier Mars and an accomplished printmaker and painter, he is a respected member of the Portland art community. Dated for freshness! Page last updated May 02, 2008 |
|||||||
| |||||||
