Sunday, March 21, 2010
Grand Center Inc. has announced its 2010 honorees of the 8th Annual Visionary Awards, which recognizes women for their contributions to the St. Louis arts and culture community.
The ceremony and cocktail reception will be from 6-8 p.m. May 19 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis.
The Visionary Awards recognizes women who have not only demonstrated a mastery of their fields, but possess a vision that furthers the arts in new and innovative ways, thereby inspiring and promoting positive change in our community.
This year’s honorees were chosen by a selection committee chaired by Jill McGuire, executive director of the Regional Arts Commission. Nominations and recommendations were submitted by members of the St. Louis arts community.
The 2010 honorees include:
Lifetime Achievement: Sally Brayley Bliss, executive director emeritus of Dance St. Louis. A dancer with several world-renowned dance companies, Bliss has performed with The National Ballet of Canada, was the principal dancer with both The Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera, served as artistic director for the Joffrey II Dancers, with whom she was affiliated for 16 years, and appeared as a guest artist with the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Her current project is writing a book on the changes in dance over the last 30 years.
Major Contributor to the Arts: Alison Ferring, an industrious community volunteer and artist in her own right, is widely known as one of the most philanthropic figures in St. Louis. For more than 30 years, Fering has worked to advance some of the community’s most well-known institutions by her generous contributions of time, wisdom and philanthropy, including the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, the United Way, Forest Park Forever and the Center of Creative Arts (COCA), for which she and her husband John contributed the lead gift in the organization’s most recent capital campaign. She is currently serving as co-chair for the Saint Louis Public Library’s Capital Campaign.
Outstanding Arts Professional: Renee Franklin, community partnerships director for the Saint Louis Art Museum since 1998. Franklin has instituted many successful museum programs, including the Friends of African American Art Collectors Circle, Youth smART and Art With Us, art education residencies, and writes a regular art education column for the St. Louis American newspaper.
Outstanding Arts Educator: Lee Nolting, director of COCAdance and Jazz Coordinator at the Center of Creative Arts. Known as one of the most beloved instructors in the region by her legions of current and former students, Nolting is especially known for developing COCA’s award-winning dance outreach programs in underserved portions of the community. Her career started at the age of 17, when she performed as a Golddigger dancer on The Dean Martin Show.
Emerging Artist: Celia Shacklett, singer, songwriter, musician. Her 2009 CD release, Transformateurs, was nominated by the Riverfront Times as one of the top ten local releases for the year. Shacklett performs regularly with Celia’s Big Rock Band and Mark Pagano’s Firedog, both part of the multi-media collective Love-O-Rama. She also serves as a camp counselor at the Saint Louis City Open Studio and Gallery.
Successful Working Artist: Susan Slaughter, principal trumpet since 1973 of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Slaughter was the first woman ever to be named principal trumpet of a major symphony orchestra. In 1992 she founded the International Women’s Brass Conference and started the Holiday Brass concerts performed at the Cathedral Basilica St. Louis, as well as in Baltimore and Houston, as a fundraising effort. Slaughter’s work is represented on numerous acclaimed Saint Louis Symphony recordings. She plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2009 – 2010 season.
Individual ticket prices for the Visionary Awards ceremony are:
- Arts Patron ($125): Listing in program book, pre-awards reception, cocktail party, reserved seating at awards ceremony and dessert reception.
- Arts Supporter ($55): Cocktail party, open seating at awards ceremony and dessert reception.
Reservations and sponsorships can be made by calling (314) 289-1517 or e-mailing rbeatty@grandcenter.org.
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