Governor’s Arts Awards
Phoenix Theatre’s Michael Barnard, Phoenix Art Museum Docents Jacquie & Bennett Doorance
PHOENIX, Ariz. (April 14, 2009): Michael Barnard, Artistic Director for Phoenix Theatre, received the 2009 Governor’s Arts Award for an Artist, Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance were honored with the Individual Award and the Phoenix Art Museum Docents earned the honor for Arts in Education at the 28th annual event on Tuesday, April 14 in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at The Arizona Biltmore.
The Boeing Company received the honor in the Business category and Ben’s Bell Project of Tucson was recognized in the Community category.
Sixty-five individuals, organizations and businesses were nominated for Governor’s Arts Awards, which were presented by Arizona Citizens for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Office of the Governor to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the Arizona arts community.
The Arizona Lottery was the event’s Premier Sponsor and SRP was the Presenting Sponsor with additional support provided by Target, Wells Fargo Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Jerry Appell, who sponsored the awards.
Each honoree received specially created glass pieces by six Arizona glass artists. Nominations were received from Apache Junction, Avondale, Chandler, Flagstaff, Mesa, Nogales, Oro Valley, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Prescott, Scottsdale, Sedona, Sun City, Tempe, Tucson, Wickenburg and Yuma.
The fourth annual Shelley Award, named for Shelley Cohn, former Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, was presented to Gerry Murphy and the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award went to former Arizona Republic theater writer Kyle Lawson.
“The list of nominees was impressive in both its size and the quality, which made the decisions that much more difficult,” said Brenda Sperduti, executive director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts. “When you look at the entire body of work that was submitted, there is no question that the Arizona arts community is driven by passion, ability, talent and creativity.”
Award categories were:
• Artist: a living Arizona artist active in the field of literature, visual arts, performing arts, folk arts, architecture, design or film.
• Individual: A living Arizona individual who has made a significant impact on the arts in Arizona through philanthropy, leadership and/or direct involvement.
• Business: A business that has made a significant contribution to support the arts of Arizona. Government agencies are not eligible.
• Community: An Arizona community organization or institution for an outstanding arts-based community program or project. Schools and school districts are not eligible for this category.
• Arts In Education: A living Arizona individual or organization for an outstanding contribution to arts in education.
For additional information visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org. Continue reading
