Prescott Celebrates the First Annual Buckey Awards for Excellence in the Arts
Join us in congratulating the nominees for and recipients of the 2011 Buckey Awards for Excellence in the Arts. This event, in its first year, took place in Prescott, AZ on Saturday, April 2, and recognized outstanding arts leaders, arts supporters, arts educators and artists. Hundreds of nominees were recognized at the event, presented by Prescott Arts Beat radio show, KAWC Public Radio and K-JAZZ Radio Network at the Hendrix Auditorium on the campus of Prescott Mile High Middle School.
To see a complete list of nominees, and to find more information about this event, visit www.prescottartsbeat.blogspot.com. The following is the list of the 2011 Buckey Award recipients, by category.
Outstanding Arts Event:
Acker Musical Showcase
J.S. Acker did start the Acker Foundation in 1955, but it was LaVon Anderson’s idea in 1988 to raise funds for musical scholarships with a giant night of music in Prescott’s downtown. Over 100 musicans and musical acts from steel drum orchestras to solo fiddles in shops, alleys and every available space around Courthouse Square.
Outstanding Musical Artist:
Dutch Holly
Jen and Tres Ikner are the Lennon and McCartney of this inventive little alt rock band (although determining which would have written “Yellow Submarine” remains open to argument). The songs on their new EP, “What Rhymes With You?” are dreamy, hook-filled examples of pop craftsmanship. With the recent addition of Jennifer “JJ” James, Nick Stednitz, Steven Parent and Anthony V. Fusco (from the late, lamented Sweet Nasty) fans of smart, sweet tempered tunes are watching this ensemble.
Outstanding Performing Artist:
Katie Dean
Katie’s portrayal of Gabriell Dollie Wiley in “The Black Widow of Prescott” was the centerpiece of a sold out show at the Elks Opera House Theatre. Some thought it controversial (please see the comments section in Dcourier.com) others thought it masterful, bringing a provocative, sad and ultimately very human figure from Prescott’s past to life.
Outstanding Literary Artist:
Colette Strassberg
Laraine Herring said it best when she said of poet Strassberg, ” . . . She evokes the fragility of place – be it the physical desert landscape or the metaphoric desert of a failing marriage. This collection is a train whistle seducing you deeper into the barrenness of your own heart far enough and long enough to emerge into the glistening dew of rebirth.” – Laraine Herring
Outstanding Visual Artist:
Filmer “Fil” Kewanyama
His work takes the superhero world of manga characters and introduces it to the mythic power of the Hopi katsina figure. Losing nothing in the process and gaining much, including the awe of art fans no matter what their cultural background.
Outstanding Arts Educator:
Juanita Hull-Carlson
Juanita Hull-Carlson brings passion, delight and a thrilling sense of possibility to her work teaching kids about the ways of art. Using found materials, mosaic, painting and a hundred little sub-specialties, she locates and opens the artistic eye of all her students. Juanita has been on the Arizona Commission on the Arts Teaching Artist Roster for 12 years and have worked at over 35 schools around AZ. Locally, these include: Skyview, Mountain Oak, Taylor Hicks Elementary, Prescott Mile High Middle School, Prescott High School, Primavera and Franklin Phonetic School, to name a few. She’s also done art education work with the Girl Scouts, Show Low Aquatic Center, Chandler’s Vision Gallery, Glendale Public Library; White Mountain Apache Tribal Schools, Acker Park, City of Prescott—Department of Water, Save the Verde Project, Prescott Creeks, the Raven Cafe and is currently at work on a huge 132 mosaic project at Star School, on the edge of the Navajo Reservation with staff and students K-8.
Outstanding Arts Supporter/Philanthropist:
Elizabeth Ruffner
The question is not whether Elizabeth is an outstanding supporter of the arts – that is quite beyond question. Her work in historical preservation of significant local architecture, as well as with Prescott Area Arts and Humanities Council, the Elks Opera House Foundation, etc. amply demonstrate this. She is a role model and a force to be reckoned with in the public life of Prescott. The question is, who will follow her? Prescott Arts Beat challenges the next generation of arts supporters to speak up, step out and be an outspoken advocate for the arts in Everybody’s Hometown. Don’t wait for Elisabeth Ruffner to do it for you.
Outstanding Arts Organization:
Prescott Fine Arts Association
One of the oldest and certainly the most diverse arts organizations in Prescott, with an art gallery and several stage programs of great popularity in the community. Their subscription base is the envy of arts organziations, in particular performing arts organizations, throughout the town. Under John Meyer’s direction, the organization has achieved a stability and focus which is also the envy of the rest of the arts community. Their recent partnership with Tom Agostino’s Folk Sessions concert series is also encouraging. Not that a little Neil Simon is a bad thing – but getting outside your wheelhouse has its merits too. Congrats, PFAA!
Lifetime Achievement:
Jody Drake
You may know this native Prescottonian from her work as the Sharlot Hall Museum’s Education Curator or her 17 years leading the Blue Rose Theater. Through it all, Jody has personified the “Why not?!” attitude, the “Lead, Follow, or Get the Heck out of the Way” approach, the “Saaaaaaaay, have you ever thought of being on the stage?” method that distinguishes all that is great in small town theater. She has nurtured a generation and a half of theatre performers and audience members – always keeping it local, local, local.
The Buckey Awards are named for Buckey O’Neill, who was a Yavapai County lawman and a soldier, a writer, editor and journalist.
