2007 City of Spokane Arts Awards
The Spokane Arts Commission presented the 16th Annual City of Spokane Arts Awards on Monday, October 1st at the Spokane City Council Meeting, in conjunction with Arts and Humanities month. This year's recipients include:
Individual Artist – Peter Hardie
Peter Hardie has been making theatre magic in Spokane for 26 years as resident Set & Lighting Designer and Technical Director at Spokane Civic Theatre.
Equally adept as fine artist… carpenter… sculptor… electrician… pyrotechnic engineer… plumber… welder… rigger… and troubleshooter – Peter's extraordinary talents delight audiences, garner critical acclaim, and set the standard of excellence for which Civic Theatre is respected nationwide.
Peter has designed for Spokane Interplayers Ensemble, Spokane Children's Theatre, Spokane Theatrical Group, Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre and Gonzaga University. He is also the Set & Lighting designer for Whitworth College and serves on adjunct faculty there.
Peter mentors work–study students at the Civic Theatre scene shop, many of whom have gone on to forge successful careers in technical theatre. The hands–on experience Peter provides is priceless – many of these young people develop not just practical skills, but the self–confidence to make it in their chosen field.
Arts Organization – Inland Crafts
Now in its 25th year, Inland Crafts is committed to enhancing the public's appreciation and understanding of contemporary crafts. The Inland Crafts annual juried show and sale has become a prestigious venue for craftspeople from around the region, generating over two million dollars in sales since its inception, and putting Spokane on the map as a culturally rich and inviting city.
Education is a large part of Inland Crafts' mission. Artist demonstrations at each show allow patrons to learn how different crafts are made and used, and to meet the artists one on one. DVDs featuring works by Inland Crafts artists are made available to Spokane Public Schools, and community colleges.
As the "crown jewel" of Spokane's juried craft exhibitions, Inland Crafts inspires our community to savor art at its best.
Arts in Education – Get Lit
Since its start as a simple weekend of readings in the autumn of 1998, Get Lit! has blossomed into a premier annual literary festival that celebrates all genres of great writing.
Prominent authors who have made Get Lit a stop on their tour include Robert Bly, Garrison Keillor, David Sedaris, and Kurt Vonnegut. Get Lit engages thousands of book lovers of all ages in writing workshops, literary panels, poetry slams, and author visits to schools throughout the region.
A ruthless community collaborator, the Get Lit Young Writers Program brings authors and writers into K through 12 classrooms throughout northeastern Washington and North Idaho. The program encourages children, especially those living in rural or low-income communities, to get excited about writing and to develop essential skills. This commitment to addressing literacy and education needs in rural communities recently earned the Young Writers Program a Pitney Bowes Education and Literacy Fund grant.
Individual Benefactor – Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley, artist and owner of Tin Man Art Works, is this year's Individual Benefactor. Sue has been an active community philanthropist and volunteer in Spokane for many years. She has provided leadership in many capacities in the community, most particularly in the visual arts. Currently, Sue is Chair of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture Board of Trustees where she has served on the Art Committee. She is the President of the Garland Business District non-profit organization. Sue is a past board member for the Spokane Art School, the Greater Spokane Sports Association, and the Spokane Parks Foundation. Sue and her terrific husband, Scott, are great contributors to all manner of arts activities in the community.
Business Benefactor – Spokane Teachers Credit Union
Spokane Teachers Credit Union is this year's deserving recipient in the category, Business Benefactor.
This year, STCU sponsored several exhibits at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, encouraging their own employees and credit union members to attend by offering reduced admission fees to the MAC.
STCU is also a corporate sponsor of Artfest, providing active support with employees and credit union members volunteering for the event.
STCU's commitment to our community shows in its dedication to ensuring young people's access to the arts. Sponsorship of the Spokane Symphony's "Symphony Yes Concerts" exposes children to great music in their schools. STCU also sponsors theatre at the Central Valley Schools, and helps fund creative writing workshops for students in lower income schools.
And whether it's a warm sunny day or a chilly holiday evening, you can't beat the ambiance of a horse and carriage ride through downtown Spokane – all courtesy of Spokane Teachers Credit Union.
Arts Community Leadership – Troy Nickerson
Most people know Troy Nickerson as a highly talented, motivated and energetic performer, director and choreographer. What they may not know is that Troy is the driving force behind a myriad of fundraising activities that benefit many community non-profit organizations. Whether it’s directing and choreographing fundraising benefits, designing and decorating the venues, locating volunteers to facilitate and entertain at these events, securing raffle and auction items, or lending his fabulous sense of style, Troy has been instrumental in raising many thousands of dollars for worthy causes throughout Spokane and the region.
Beneficiaries of Troy's efforts include: Cancer Patient Care; the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, West Central Community Center, PRIDE, Unity in the Community, the Spokane Aids Network, the Shriners, SCC Single Parents program, Spokane's Lilac Princesses, Unity Church, Spokane Opera, and Spokane Civic Theatre.
Troy's leadership role as Artistic Director of Spokane Theatrical Group, and on subsequent projects too numerous to mention, has secured Spokane’s reputation as one of the nation's premiere cities for community theatre.
Special Achievement Award – Peter Thomas
This year, we give a Special Achievement award to a young artist who is, quite simply, smitten by the dinosaur. Peter Thomas, age 17, has been drawing and sculpting dinosaurs for years. His recent contribution to the blockbuster "A T–Rex Named Sue" exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, marks his second showing there. Peter sculpts using cardboard, newspaper and clear packing tape, producing wonderful, whimsical creatures that encourage the imagination to soar! As Artist in Residence at the MAC, Peter demonstrated his ingenuity and resourcefulness as he sculpted his version of T–Rex right in the exhibition hall. This work–in–progress gave repeat viewers an ongoing peek into the creative process, and complimented the museum's mission of showcasing hands–on art.
Peter loves to share his passion for the dinosaur and spent time this year at both Hutton and Moran Prairie elementary schools, demonstrating his sculpting techniques to kids in grades 3 through 6, in conjunction with the district's dinosaur unit.