Mayor Mike McGinn today announced the recipients of the 2011 Mayor’s Arts Awards.
The Seattle Arts Commission recommended the recipients from a pool of more than 300 public nominations. The Mayor’s Arts Awards recognize the contributions made by artists, arts and cultural organizations and community members who make a difference through arts and cultural activities.
“The arts are an essential part of a great city. While the collective achievements of this year’s award recipients are impressive, what’s truly inspiring is their commitment to making a difference in our community through the arts,” said McGinn. “They engage our youth, connect different cultures, give artists a place to grow and create access for all people to participate in the arts and tap their own creativity.”
The recipients of the 2011 Mayor’s Arts Award are:
- Donald Byrd, choreographer and artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater
- Jack Straw Productions
- Quinton Morris, DMA, violinist and professor
- On the Boards
- Pratt Fine Arts Center
- Tet in Seattle, producer of the annual Tet Festival
The recipients will be honored at the Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony, 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1 at Seattle Center on the North Fountain Lawn. The Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony is presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival and sponsored by City Arts magazine.
The outdoor ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will feature award presentations as well as the official opening of the Bumbershoot 2011 Visual Arts Exhibits. The free public preview of the exhibits will be open 3 to 9 p.m. and are a great way to kick off or close First Thursday.
The exhibits will include W. Scott Trimble’s Skater’s Gauntlet, a sculptural installation in the Seattle Center Skatepark. Nearby, Marlow Harris and JoDavid’s Bumber by Number, a participatory paint-by-number exhibit, will be mounted in the Seattle Center Pavilion Courtyard. Inside the Pavilion, Leslie Lyons’ interactive video story Expedition, will unfold over the three-day Bumbershoot festival (Sept. 3 to 5) and curator Kathy Lindenmayer’s The Magic Show will feature video, photography and sculptural works that defy explanation. For more information on the exhibits, visit Bumbershoot’s website. Bumbershoot’s visual arts exhibits are presented with support from the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.
This is the ninth year of the Mayor’s Arts Awards, which are nonmonetary. To reflect the diversity of artistic achievement throughout the city, the awards do not have set categories. For more information about the Mayor’s Arts Awards, including past recipients, click here.
