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Arts & Cultural Council announces 17th Annual Arts Awards
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester proudly announces recipients of the 17th Annual Arts Awards. The awards will be presented at noon on Thursday, October 12, 2000, at the Hyatt Regency Rochester.
The 2000 recipients are:
Individual Award: Nancy R. Turner
Cultural Organization Award: Shipping Dock Theatre
Business/Foundation Award: Davenport-Hatch Foundation
Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement: Nancy Jurs
Special Citation: BOA Editions, Ltd.
Special Citation: Roslyn Bakst Goldman
The following organizations will be recognized for important anniversaries:
The Traveling Cabaret of Irondequoit's Brighton Theatre Guild - 10 years
Aesthetic Education Institute - 20 years
Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester - 20 years
New York State Literary Center - 20 years
Writers & Books - 20 years
Billett Ballroom Center - 25 years
Genesee Valley Orchestra and Chorus - 25 years
Madrigalia - 25 years
WXXI Classical 91.5 - 25 years
Garth Fagan Dance - 30 years
Genesee Center for Arts & Education - 30 years
Visual Studies Workshop - 30 years
Gallery Council of the Memorial Art Gallery - 60 years
Hochstein Music School - 80 years
A 26-member Selection Committee, chaired by Virginia R. Cornyn of Xerox Corporation, selected the awards recipients. The 17th Annual Arts Awards are sponsored by Nixon Peabody LLP and the Hurlbut Foundation. Each of the awards recipients will receive a commemorative plaque created by Rochester artist, Cheryl Louise Olney.
Awards Recipients
Individual Award: Nancy R. Turner
Nancy R. Turner has given tirelessly and generously of her time and made significant financial contributions to numerous arts and cultural organizations in the Greater Rochester region and throughout New York State. As an astute patron and effective advocate for the arts, Mrs. Turner is deeply dedicated to enriching and beautifying the quality of life in her communities. Nancy Turner receives the Individual Award for the scope, creativity and enduring impact she has made on arts and culture in Rochester.
The list of Mrs. Turner's accomplishments is rich and varied. Nancy Turner dedicated eleven years as Chair of the Garden Restoration Committee for the George Eastman House. She also served as Honorary Co-Chair of the Eastman House $10 million House and Gardens Endowment Campaign. At Genesee Country Village & Museum, Mrs. Turner's generosity supported the research and creation of a Shaker Garden. She was a major supporter of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's 75th Anniversary Commissioning Project and of the Rochester Area Community Foundation's Arts Tomorrow Fund which supports the RPO, Geva Theater and Garth Fagan Dance. The Landmark Society of Western New York, Hochstein Music School, Memorial Art Gallery and University of Rochester are also recipients of Nancy R. Turner's generosity.
Cultural Organization Award: Shipping Dock Theatre
Fran Biddy, Producer and Barbara Biddy, Artistic Director, believe that the theater is a vehicle for both entertainment and education. Their vision has challenged Rochester audiences for twenty years with productions that are consistently interesting and excellent. Since 1980, Shipping Dock Theatre has been dedicated to producing challenging and thought-provoking plays which deal with social issues such as AIDS, racism, sexual orientation, political correctness, and the role of the artist in society.
Shipping Dock is committed to advancing the arts in every way possible. It offers acting classes for children and adults. It provides discussions with community leaders about challenging issues in its plays. Visual artists have the opportunity to display their work in the theater lobby. And, most vitally, Shipping Dock is committed to the development of new dramatic literature and young actors.
Fran Biddy passed away this summer. He was a scientist and a sculptor; a gentle and humane man. He was greatly valued and will be deeply missed by the arts and cultural community.
Business/Foundation Award: Davenport-Hatch Foundation
The Davenport-Hatch Foundation, chaired by Austin E. Hildebrandt, has been a significant supporter of arts and culture in the region for over 50 years. The list of recipients of Davenport Hatch's quiet generosity is lengthy and includes the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra has transitioned from a time of crisis to an era of promise through the Foundation's support. Recent new projects include the Holiday Pops recordings and the underwriting of the Austin E. Hildebrandt Chair for the Principal Trombone.
Other recipients of Davenport-Hatch gifts are Geva Theater, for productions in its innovative Next Stage; the George Eastman Archive and Study Center at George Eastman House; the Central Library of the Monroe County Library System; the renovated performance hall at Hochstein Memorial Music School; the Memorial Art Gallery; the Genesee Country Village & Museum; and the Landmark Society of Western New York, among many, many others.
Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement: Nancy Jurs
Nancy Jurs was selected to receive the Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement because of her more than thirty years of creative work as an innovative sculptor. Ms. Jurs has made significant contributions to her field through the execution of large-scale ceramic works and the development of new patina techniques. Ms. Jurs has provided exhibition and employment opportunities for artists, and mentors younger artists.
Ms. Jurs produces work for both public and private spaces. Triad, a three-element, free-standing piece measuring 13' x 10' x 10', is installed at the Rochester International Airport. Other monumental pieces are sited regionally at the Memorial Art Gallery and State University of New York at Brockport. Her work is collected by the Smithsonian Institution, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, among many other institutions.
Special Citation: BOA Editions, Ltd.
BOA Editions is an independent, not-for-profit publishing house that has received national acclaim for its work. Founded in 1976 by the late poet, editor and translator, A. Poulin, Jr., BOA will have published 112 books and pamphlets by the end of this year. In its 24 years of service to the arts, BOA books have won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the Lenore Marshall/The Nation Prize, and two Lamont Poetry Selections from the American Academy of American Poets. BOA Editions is also the publisher of poet Lucille Clifton, the only poet to have two poetry collections cited as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in a single year.
Though BOA is a nationally recognized poetry press, it has established a strong presence in the local community. It has made the poetry press / poetry audience relationship a priority in Monroe County by bringing poets to libraries, schools, bookstores, and museums for readings, book signings and workshops. BOA has also donated thousands of books to the Monroe County Library System, the Rochester City School District, Literacy Volunteers, WXXI radio and television, and New York State Correctional facilities.
Special Citation: Roslyn Bakst Goldman
Roslyn Bakst Goldman works on behalf of arts and culture in the Rochester area in a variety of roles. She is a consultant, appraiser, curator, advisor, chair, speaker, panelist, convener, facilitator, and champion.
Roz Goldman has a personal mission to bring public art to Rochester's buildings and streets. The most important step in the renewal of our city, Goldman feels, is the increased visibility and utilization of our cultural institutions and talented citizens. Whenever a project becomes a possibility, she has volunteered to make public art happen.
Goldman is well-known for her wide-ranging cultural activities over the last two decades, including bringing art to the Greater Rochester International Airport and the new Bausch & Lomb headquarters. In 1994, Goldman organized the competition and commission of an outdoor sculpture brick wall for the Atkin Adult Day Health Center of the Jewish Home of Rochester. She worked with the City of Rochester to organize a competition for the gateway tower between the downtown Bausch & Lomb and Xerox buildings. And, Goldman held a competition at RIT with professors from the School of American Crafts for a student sculpture on the grounds of the Via Health organization. She considers it part of her mission to train artists on how to apply for competitions.
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