Post on 23-Jul-2020
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2017 Americans for the ArtsNational Arts Awards
Monday, October 23, 2017
Welcome from Carolyn Clark PowersChair, National Arts Awards
Arts Education AwardStudio in a School AssociationAccepted by Thomas Cahill
Presented by Darren Walker
Legacy AwardWilliam Lehr, Jr.Presented by Marian M. Warden
Philanthropy in the Arts AwardStefan Edlis and Gael NeesonPresented by Lisa Phillips
Remarks by Robert L. LynchPresident and CEO of Americans for the Arts
Dinner
Remarks by Sarah ArisonCo-Chair, National Arts Awards
Performance by YoungArts Alumni
Ted Arison Young Artist AwardAndra Day
Outstanding Contributions to the Arts AwardThelma GoldenPresented by Raymond McGuire
Carolyn Clark Powers Lifetime Achievement AwardClive DavisPresented by Dionne Warwick
Closing RemarksAbel Lopez, Chair,Americans for the Arts Board of Directors
and Robert L. Lynch and Carolyn Clark Powers
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Greetings from the Board Chair and President
It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 2017 presentation of Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Awards.
Our honorees tonight – three exceptional philanthropists, a groundbreaking non-profi t organization,
a social change agent, and two boundary-pushing artists – truly embody the mission and goals of
Americans for the Arts. They represent the depth and breadth of the arts community and the roles
we all can play in promoting access to all the arts for all the people in our country. Collectively their
excellence embodies that value and the success of the public-private partnership of arts support in America.
This has been an extraordinary year on many fronts. Although the non-profi t arts continue their
explosive growth, funding for the arts has been challenged more severely than in many years. Changing
times require innovative solutions to new challenges, and the arts play a critical role in building those
solutions. We had some good news earlier this year as our advocacy efforts paid off…so far… in the
fi ght to save the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and our nation’s other cultural agencies.
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, who have time and again understood the vital
value of the arts, voted to maintain funding for these institutions, rejecting a White House proposal to
eliminate them outright. This endorsement helps us continue our work as the federal budget work is
still not fi nalized for this year and will be challenged anew next year.
There is still much work to be done to encourage public and private support at the federal, state, and
local levels. Federal funding for the arts, even if maintained, still falls short. That is why we continue to
advocate for the arts to be federally supported at one dollar per capita, up from the current 46 cents,
which would increase federal funding and its leveraging power to over $300 million. As the most
recent iteration of our economic impact study, Arts and Economic Prosperity V, shows: non-profi t arts
and cultural organizations and their audiences in the United States are a $166.3 billion industry that
supports 4.6 million jobs and generates $27.5 billion in government revenue. Not only is the economic
impact of the arts profound and ever growing, but our research shows the majority of Americans
believe that the arts improve our communities, and are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”
Through our work, Americans for the Arts, is committed to healing and empowering our nation through
access to the arts. As Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation and a presenter this evening,
said this year as our 2017 Nancy Hanks Lecturer on Arts and Public Policy, “Without art, there is
no empathy. Without empathy, there is no justice.” We hope you enjoy an evening celebrating the
accomplishments of our honorees. Thank you for joining us tonight.
Abel Lopez Robert L. Lynch
Chair, Board of Directors President and CEO
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The National Arts Awards Chair
Dear Friends of Americans for the Arts,
I am happy to welcome you to the National Arts Awards in my third year serving as chair.
This is one of the few national events to recognize artists in all disciplines, and tonight we have
transformed our space at Cipriani’s with the art of Sarah Sze, who represented our nation at
the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. We are thrilled that her art is on view here tonight. She is a
ground-breaking artist with profound vision, whose work is as at home in a museum or private
collection as it is in the public realm.
I am pleased that our Lifetime Achievement award will go to Clive Davis – a legend in the music
industry. Through my involvement in the Grammy Foundation, I have witnessed how his impact
spans generations and musical genres. In addition to our mutual love of music, Clive shares my
commitment to education: his namesake institute at New York University’s Tisch School of the
Arts prepares the next generation of music producers with both business and artistic training.
Clive is also an advocate for countless humanitarian causes.
My good friends Gael Neeson and Stefan Edlis will receive our Philanthropy Award this evening.
They are deeply committed to artistic innovation and public programs in their hometown of
Chicago, and the city’s arts organizations have greatly benefited from their support. In 2015,
they gave a transformational gift of 42 works of Pop and contemporary art to the Art Institute
of Chicago – which was, and remains, the largest gift in the museum’s history. Their generosity
extends well beyond Chicago to their second hometown of Aspen, Colorado - where I have
known them for many years through our involvement in the Aspen Art Museum – and to other
institutions throughout the country and around the world.
Few organizations have had such impact in the field of arts education in New York City as the
Studio in a School Association, founded by beloved arts leader and patron Agnes Gund who
has devoted herself to a philanthropic life in service of arts education and social justice. We
are recognizing Studio as it celebrates 40 years of powerful work in the field, and are thrilled to
celebrate the expansion of their work outside New York. I look forward to watching them evolve
over the next 40 years!
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The National Arts Awards Chair
The Outstanding Contributions Award has always been given to an artist, but this year, for the first time,
we are breaking that trend. Thelma Golden’s work has gone far beyond her role as Director and Chief
Curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem – she is truly a cultural change agent. She has done so much
within New York City, and around the country, as a member of the Obama Foundation Board and, in
my neck of the woods, on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Americans for the Arts’ treasured board member, William Lehr, is this year’s Legacy Award honoree. Bill
is one of the longest-serving members of the board and has seen the organization through several pivotal
mergers which helped form Americans for the Arts as it exists today. His steady vision and business acumen,
gained through many years of board experience, have helped not only Americans for the Arts, but countless
organizations in his home state of Pennsylvania, navigate the daily challenges facing arts non-profits.
Andra Day is a stellar artist and impactful advocate for social justice. Tonight, we present her with the
Ted Arison Young Artist Award. Her hit song “Rise Up,” her reinterpretation of “Strange Fruit,” as well
as her recently released duet with Common, “Stand Up for Something,” are reminders of the power of
song to inspire and move us. We honor Andra for her incredible artistry and powerful voice – not only
onstage, but off-stage as well.
I am grateful to my co-chairs Sarah Arison, David and Susan Goode, Jeff and Justine Koons, Nora
Orphanides, and Marian Warden, in addition to the Benefit Committee, who have all worked so hard to
make tonight a success.
Finally, I want to thank all of you – without your support none of this would be possible. I am heartened
that, in a time of division, we – as supporters, lovers, and practitioners of the arts – can come together
to share and celebrate how the arts have touched us and our communities.
Carolyn Clark Powers
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Chair
Carolyn Clark Powers
Co-Chairs
Sarah Arison
David and Susan Goode
Justine and Jeff Koons
Nora C. Orphanides
Marian M. Warden
Benefit Committee
BVLGARI
Amy Cappellazzo
Jany and Charles Davenport
Lisa Dennison
Gail and Alfred Engelberg
Gordon and Llura Gund
Dorothy Lichtenstein
Timothy J. McClimon
Charles Segars
Nancy Stephens and Rick Rosenthal
Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee
Jamie and David Wolf
Benefit Committee
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Arts Education Award
The mission of Studio in a
School Association is to foster
the creative and intellectual
development of children and
youth through quality visual
arts programs directed by arts
professionals, and to collaborate with and develop the ability of
those who provide or support arts programming and creative
development both in and outside of schools. The association
realizes its mission through two organizations: the New York City
Schools Program and the Studio Institute.
Studio’s New York City Schools Program delivers in-class
instruction across multiple grades and through varied media,
primarily for students who otherwise would not have access to
a quality visual arts curriculum. It also expands the expertise of
classroom teachers while solidifying the important role of arts
education within their schools. This year, Studio is engaging
over 33,000 students and more than 2,000 teachers at 194
educational sites in New York City, 92% of which serve students
living in communities with high levels of poverty.
The Studio Institute undertakes research to identify and
document best practices in visual arts education; disseminates
Studio’s program models; and participates in field-wide
conversations about instructional strategies. The Institute is
currently engaged in citywide professional development for Pre-
Kindergarten teachers in support of New York City’s Pre-K for All
program, and is expanding Studio’s Arts Intern program for teens
and young adults into several other U.S. cities. It is also leading
a research project integrating Arts Education into Math, English
Language Arts and Technology curricula in four South Bronx
elementary schools.
These activities place Studio at the forefront of work to rebuild
and reinvigorate visual arts instruction in public schools with the
goal to provide skills-based arts experiences that advance the
lives and careers of students of all ages, as well as the dedicated
teachers who serve them.
Darren Walker, presenterDarren Walker is President of the Ford Foundation, the nation’s
second largest philanthropy, and for two decades has been a
leader in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. He led the
philanthropy committee that helped bring a resolution to the
city of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy and chairs the U.S. Impact
Investing Alliance. Prior to joining Ford, he was Vice President
at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he managed the rebuild
New Orleans initiative after Hurricane Katrina. In the 1990s, as
COO of Harlem’s largest community development organization,
the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Mr. Walker oversaw a
comprehensive revitalization program resulting in over 1,000 new
units of housing, Harlem’s first commercial development in twenty
years, and New York’s first public school built and managed
by a community organization. He had a decade long career in
international law and finance at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
and UBS. He serves as a trustee of Carnegie Hall, New York
City Ballet, the High Line, the Arcus Foundation and PepsiCo.
Educated exclusively in public schools, Mr. Walker received the
“Distinguished Alumnus Award,” the highest honor given by his
alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin. In 2016, TIME
magazine named him to its annual list of the “100 Most Influential
People in the World.” He is a member of the Council on Foreign
Relations, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the
recipient of thirteen honorary degrees.
STUDIO IN A SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
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Legacy AwardWILLIAM LEHR, JR.
William Lehr, Jr. is a
respected, longtime arts
and community leader
in central Pennsylvania,
while also serving as an
esteemed national voice in
arts policy. He has served
on the boards of more than
30 non-profit and public-
private organizations, acting
as Chairman of the Board for
more than a dozen of them
at the national, state, and
regional levels. He provides
advice and assistance to a
wide range of regional boards and non-profit organizations.
Until 2016, Mr. Lehr was Chairman of the Board of Capital
BlueCross, a position he had held since 2004. He also served
as the organization’s CEO from 2008-2012 and as its president
from 2008-2010. Mr. Lehr was previously Senior Vice President,
Secretary, and Treasurer of Hershey Foods Corporation, from
which he retired in 1995 after a 28-year career. He also served
as the Lead Director of Hersha Hospitality Trust, a publicly traded
real estate investment trust.
As a community leader, Mr. Lehr holds, and has held, leadership
positions within multiple national and regional organizations,
including: Lebanon Valley College, where he previously served as
Chairman of the Board; Union Theological Seminary; Harrisburg
Symphony Association, where he is immediate past Chairman;
WITF Public Media, where he is also immediate past Chairman;
and the Susquehanna Art Museum, where he is serving his
second term as President of the Board. He is a director, Vice
Chairman, and former Chairman of Americans for the Arts,
where he currently chairs the Investment Committee, its PAC,
and its Foundation. He is Chairman of the Arts Partnership,
a collaboration between The Foundation for Enhancing
Communities and the Cultural Enrichment Fund. He is also
a member of the Advisory Board of The University of Notre
Dame’s Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business, the
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Early
Learning Investment Commission. He was recently chair of the
Capital Campaign Committee for the Hamilton Health Center in
inner city Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In previous years, Mr. Lehr has served as Chairman of the
Foundation for Enhancing Communities, where he still serves as
a member of the Investment Advisory Committee; Chairman of
MetroArts of the Capital Region; Chairman of the Capital Division
of the Pennsylvania Economy League; Founding Director and
Vice Chairman of The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts;
Founding Director of the Cultural Enrichment Fund; director of
the Pennsylvania Humanities Council; and as a board member of
numerous other non-profit organizations in central Pennsylvania.
Marian M. Warden, presenterMarian M. (Mim) Warden began her professional life as an
elementary school teacher, then a non-profit radio programmer
and announcer. She was the founding director of MetroArts, a
local arts agency in Harrisburg, PA, where William Lehr became
an active member, then Chair of the Board. Now based in New
York, Ms. Warden left Harrisburg to study Theology and the Arts
at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she currently
serves as a Trustee. She is also the Board Chair of a new not-for-
profit organization seeking to restore a declining church in the
city, as a vibrant space for transformation through the arts and
community engagement.
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Philanthropy in the Arts Award STEFAN EDLIS AND GAEL NEESON
Gael Neeson and Stefan
Edlis are among the noted
collectors of contemporary
art in the world. A Holocaust
survivor, Mr. Edlis grew up in
Vienna, Austria, and came
to New York in 1941. He
served in the Navy in the
Second World War. After
being discharged in San
Francisco, he became a
tool maker before moving to
Chicago and founding Apollo
Plastics in 1965. Ms. Neeson
was born and educated in
Melbourne, Australia. She left Australia after college to travel the
world before coming to Chicago and Aspen, where she and Mr.
Edlis met and were married.
In 2007, Mr. Edlis and Ms. Neeson created the Edlis Neeson
Foundation to support the arts, communication, and outreach.
They have provided key funding to institutions and initiatives such
as the Aspen Art Museum; the Aspen Music Festival and School;
the Aspen Institute; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago;
the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Chicago Opera Theater; the Whitney
Museum of American Art; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum;
and the New Museum, where Ms. Neeson sits on the board. Mr.
Edlis is a trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,
and serves on the Board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
In 2015, Ms. Neeson and Mr. Edlis donated 44 works from
their collection, valued at $400 million, to the Art Institute of
Chicago. This remains the largest gift in the museum’s history.
These works were chosen by the Art Institute and comprised of
works from Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns,
Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Roy Lichtenstein, Cindy Sherman,
Richard Prince, Eric Fischl, Jeff Koons, Brice Marden, Charles
Ray, Damien Hirst, John Currin, Katharine Fritsch, and Takashi
Murakami. Their collection today is comprised of approximately
180 works by 40 artists. All works from their collection are on
display.
Lisa Phillips, presenterLisa Phillips has been the Toby Devan Lewis Director of the
New Museum since 1999. During her tenure, the museum
has grown into a major international cultural destination with
a roster of critically acclaimed exhibitions of artists including:
William Kentridge, Cildo Miereles, Paul Chan, George Condo,
Rosemarie Trockel, and Chris Ofill. The museum has also become
a nexus of innovation, with its educational programs; art and
technology initiatives; and platforms to explore expanded roles
for museums. Phillips conceived and realized a major expansion
of the museum’s first dedicated building, which opened on the
Bowery in 2007, and quickly became a catalyst for neighborhood
transformation. This inspired Phillips to found Ideas City, an
international festival on the future city, as well as NEW INC,
the first museum-led incubator for art, technology, and design.
The Museum just announced an expansion designed by Rem
Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu, which will break ground in
2019. Previously, Phillips was Curator at the Whitney Museum
of American Art where she organized over 20 exhibitions. She
has served on the boards of the Andy Warhol Foundation and
the American Association of Museum Directors, among others.
Phillips has authored numerous publications and lectured around
the world.
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Ted Arison Young Artist AwardANDRA DAY
Andra Day is an American
singer and songwriter known
for her boundless talent, as
well as her deep conviction
and commitment to social
and cultural change. Ms.
Day’s full-length debut
Cheers to the Fall garnered
a 2016 Grammy Award
nomination in the category
of “Best R&B Album,”
while its anthemic Platinum
lead single “Rise Up”
earned a nod for “Best
R&B Performance.” She
has appeared on: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ellen,
Dancing with the Stars, The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the White
House National Christmas Tree Lighting, Hallmark’s Home for the
Holiday’s, the CMA Country Christmas, and America’s Got Talent,
to name just a few. She recently appeared on The Daily Show with
Trevor Noah, where she debuted her interpretation of the seminal
song “Strange Fruit”, made famous by Billie Holiday, and spoke,
alongside the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, about the
history of lynching in America.
Recognized amongst some of music’s most legendary names,
Ms. Day has paid tribute to Ray Charles at The Smithsonian, and
has shared the stage with everyone from Chinese piano virtuoso
Lang Lang, Bonnie Raitt, and Stevie Wonder to Ellie Goulding,
Alicia Keys, and John Legend. She has performed at the 2016
Democratic National Convention and the launch of Michelle
Obama’s We Will Rise documentary in partnership with Meryl
Streep and Freida Pinto at the “International Day of the Girl”
event at The White House. Ms. Day has appeared on the cover
of Essence Magazine and was honored with the “Powerhouse
Award” at the Billboard Women in Music event.
2017 kicked off with two show-stopping performances: one at
the 48th Annual NAACP Image Awards, the other a knockout
Bee Gees tribute during the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Hyatt welcomed Ms. Day as the voice of its “For A World Of
Understanding” campaign, breathing new life into the Burt
Bacharach and Hal David classic, “What The World Needs Now
Is Love.” She also voiced Sweet Tea in the summer blockbuster
Cars 3, covering Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”. Closing
out 2017, Ms. Day released the moving anthem “Stand Up For
Something” (featuring Common) from the soundtrack of the film
Marshall. The movie also marks her on-screen debut.
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Thelma Golden is Director
and Chief Curator of
The Studio Museum in
Harlem, the world’s leading
institution devoted to visual
art by artists of African
descent. Ms. Golden
began her career as a
Studio Museum intern in
1987. In 1988, she joined
the Whitney Museum of
American Art, where she
launched her influential
curatorial practice. Over a
decade at the Whitney, she
organized numerous groundbreaking exhibitions, including
Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in American Art. She was also a member of the curatorial team for the 1993
Biennial.
In 2000, Ms. Golden returned to the Studio Museum as Deputy
Director for Exhibitions and Programs, working closely with
Director Lowery Stokes Sims. She succeeded Dr. Sims as
Director in 2005. Under her leadership, the Studio Museum has
gained increased renown as a global leader in the exhibition of
contemporary art, a center for innovative education, and a cultural
anchor in the Harlem community. Ms. Golden’s curatorial vision
has cemented the Museum as “one of New York City’s most
consistently stimulating and innovative art institutions,” according
to Holland Cotter of the New York Times. Her tenure as Director
has been characterized by a deep commitment to planning for
the Museum’s future. In 2015, the Studio Museum announced
plans to create a new facility, designed by Adjaye Associates in
conjunction with Cooper Robertson, on its current site in Harlem.
The new building will be the Studio Museum’s first purpose-built
facility since its founding in 1968.
Ms. Golden holds a B.A. in Art History and African American
Studies from Smith College and has received numerous honorary
doctorates. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Ms.
Golden to the Committee for the Preservation of the White
House, on which she served until 2016. She currently serves on
the Board of Directors for the Barack Obama Foundation and
the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is a 2008 Henry
Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and in 2016 received the
Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence from the Center for
Curatorial Studies at Bard College. In 2015, she was appointed
as a Ford Foundation Art of Change Visiting Fellow. Ms. Golden
is a recognized authority in contemporary art by artists of African
descent and an active lecturer and panelist, speaking about
contemporary art and culture around the nation and the globe.
Raymond McGuire, presenterRaymond J. McGuire is Citi’s Global Head of Corporate and
Investment Banking (“CIB”). Mr. McGuire is a member of the
Institutional Clients Group Executive Committee, the Institutional
Clients Group Business Practices Committee, and is a Board
Member of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Mr. McGuire actively
leads and manages the CIB whose clients generate over $20
Billion of global revenue annually. He has personally advised
on transactions valued at over $600 Billion. Previously, Mr.
McGuire was the Global Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at
Morgan Stanley, and has worked at Merrill Lynch; Wasserstein
Perella & Co.; and The First Boston Corp. In addition to serving
as Chairman of the Board at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Mr.
McGuire also serves on the boards of the American Museum of
Natural History, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
De La Salle Academy, the Hotchkiss School, the New York City
Police Foundation, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the New York
Public Library, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He
received his M.B.A. & J.D. from Harvard Business School and
Harvard Law School and an A.B. from Harvard College.
Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award THELMA GOLDEN
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As the record industry’s most
innovative and influential
executive, Clive Davis has
had a profound effect on
the world of music. He
has earned four Grammys
in his role as album
producer, has received the
Grammy Trustees Lifetime
Achievement Award, was
inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 2000,
and, in 2010, The Recording
Academy named The
Grammy Museum theatre in his honor.
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Davis graduated from New York University
and Harvard Law School. He first worked at Columbia Records,
where he was named President in 1967. In 1974, Mr. Davis
founded Arista Records, and expanded the company to include
Arista Nashville in 1988. He continued his exploration of different
musical genres with the formation of LaFace Records in 1989,
and Bad Boy Records in 1994. In 2000, Mr. Davis formed J
Records, which quickly emerged as a dominant force in the
industry. In 2008, Mr. Davis was appointed Chief Creative Officer
for Sony Music Entertainment, a position which expanded the
number of artists for whom he was creatively responsible.
Mr. Davis has impacted the worlds of Pop, Rock and Roll,
R&B, Country and Hip-Hop, and has played a key role in the
careers of countless artists across those genres including:
Janis Joplin, Chicago, Santana, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen,
Aerosmith, Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & The Family Stone, Barbra
Streisand, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Barry Manilow,
Whitney Houston, Patti Smith, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha
Franklin, The Grateful Dead, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon,
Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Toni Braxton, Sean “Puffy”
Combs, Notorious B.I.G., Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Luther
Vandross, Rod Stewart, and Jennifer Hudson.
Since 1985, he has worked tirelessly in the battle against AIDS,
and has received humanitarian honors from organizations such as
the Anti-Defamation League, the American Cancer Society, and
the American Foundation for AIDS Research. In 2002, the Tisch
School of the Arts at New York University established The Clive
Davis Department of Recorded Music – the first four-year, degree-
granting undergraduate program that recognizes the creative
producer as an artist in his own right, and musical recording itself
as a creative medium. In 2011, the Department was expanded
into an Institute. A documentary based on Mr. Davis’ 2013 New
York Times bestselling autobiography, The Soundtrack of My Life
was released this month by Apple Music and opened to glowing
reviews.
Dionne Warwick, presenterDionne Warwick is a five-time Grammy Award-winning music
legend who has earned more than 75 charted hit songs and
sold over 100 million records. She was discovered by Burt
Bacharach and Hal David in 1961, and went on to record 18
consecutive Top 100 singles (“Don’t Make Me Over,” Walk on
By,” among the first). She received her first Grammy in 1968
for “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”. Ms. Warwick became
the first African-American solo female artist of her generation
to win the prestigious award for Best Contemporary Female
Vocalist Performance.
In 1985, she participated in the recording of “That’s What
Friends Are For,” which became a number-one hit worldwide and
raised awareness and major funds for AIDS research, which she
continues to support, among other causes such as The Starlight
Foundation, children’s hospitals, world hunger, disaster relief, and
music education for which she has been honored and has raised
millions of dollars. Ms. Warwick also participated in the all-star
charity single, “We Are the World” and performed at “Live Aid.”
Ms. Warwick has been honored by AMFAR, the Desert Aids
Project, and Clive Davis at his pre-Grammy party. Ms. Warwick
was also inducted into The Grammy Museum where a special
50th Anniversary career exhibit was unveiled. Most recently,
Ms. Warwick released a star-studded duets album entitled,
“Feels So Good,” featuring collaborations with some of today’s
greatest artists.
Carolyn Clark Powers Lifetime Achievement AwardCLIVE DAVIS
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Performers
The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted
Arison to identify and nurture the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary,
design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and
professional development. The organization’s signature program is an application-based
award for emerging artists ages 15-18 or in grades 10-12 from across the United States.
Selected from a pool of more than an average of 11,000 applications (in 2015, the organization received a record-breaking number of more than 12,000
applications), YoungArts Winners receive valuable support, including fi nancial awards of up to $10,000, professional development and educational experiences
working with renowned mentors—such as Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rebecca Walker, Plácido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Neil Patrick Harris, Jeff Koons,
Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie and Carrie Mae Weems—and performance and exhibition opportunities at some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions.
YoungArts Winners become part of a thousands-strong alumni network of artists, which offers them additional professional opportunities throughout their
careers. YoungArts alumni who have gone on to become leading professionals in their fi elds include actresses Viola Davis, Anna Gunn, Zuzanna Szadkowski and
Kerry Washington; Broadway stars Raúl Esparza, Billy Porter, Andrew Rannells and Tony Yazbeck; recording artists Josh Groban, Judith Hill and Chris Young;
Metropolitan Opera star Eric Owens; musicians Terence Blanchard, Gerald Clayton, Jennifer Koh and Elizabeth Roe; choreographers Camille A. Brown and
Desmond Richardson; visual artists Daniel Arsham and Hernan Bas; internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken; New York Times bestselling author
Sam Lipsyte; and Academy Award-winning fi lmmaker Doug Blush.
Jake Goldbas, 2007 YoungArts Winner in Jazz, is a Grammy-nominated artist who has taken the music scene by storm. A respected
educator and clinician, Goldbas leads a band for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new education program Jazz for Young People and has
performed at the world’s most distinguished venues from Carnegie Hall to Madison Square Garden. He is currently the drummer for
Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway.
Kate Davis, 2009 YoungArts Winner in Jazz, is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She moved to New York in 2009 to attend
the Manhattan School of Music and has performed at such illustrious venues as The Kennedy Center, The Bowery Ballroom, Lincoln
Center, and Carnegie Hall.
Nia Ashleigh Harris, 2017 YoungArts Winner in Voice, 16 year-old highschool senior, has been performing since she was 4 years old.
She made her Broadway debut at the age of 11 in Disney’s The Lion King and is a 2017 YoungArts winner in Popular Voice.
Jay Julio, 2015 YoungArts Winner in Music, is a student at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studies with Karen Ritscher, where
he is supported by the Virtu Foundation and the American Viola Society. He has been a prizewinner in competitions held by the National
Federation of Music Club and the Music Teachers National Association, among others.
Derek Louie, 2016 YoungArts Winner in Music, is a cellist in his freshman year at the Juilliard School studying with Joel Krosnick. Derek
spent eight years at the Juilliard Pre-College with Clara Kim. Derek wants to use the arts as a means of affecting change with respect to
how society views and treats mental illness.
Yaegy Park, 2015 YoungArts Winner in Music, is currently a third-year undergraduate at The Juilliard School. She enjoys participating
in chamber music and community outreach. She has worked in collaboration with Daniel’s Music and is currently a CLIMB and Gluck
Fellow at Juilliard.
Sam Reider, 2007 YoungArts Winner in Jazz, is an award-winning composer, accordionist, pianist, and singer making waves at the
intersection of Americana, jazz, and world music. His artistry is driven by an intense creativity, a passion for discovery, and a proven
ability to bring together people and communities from around the world.
Gabe Schnider, 2011 YoungArts Winner in Jazz, is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School, who performs a wide range of music with
a variety of different groups and has been featured at venues all over the world, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, the
Kennedy Center, and the Newport, Monterey, Montreux, Montreal, and Toronto International Jazz Festivals, as well as the 2016 American
Folk Festival and 2017 Vail International Dance Festival. He has performed with luminaries including Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Jon
Batiste and Stay Human, among others.
13
Featured ArtistSARAH SZE
Since the late 1990s,
internationally acclaimed
artist Sarah Sze has
developed a signature
visual language that
challenges the static nature
of sculpture. Ms. Sze draws
from Modernist traditions
of the found object and
dismantles them through
use of materials evoking
fl ux, transformation and
fragility. Her immersive and
intricate works question
the value society places on objects and how objects ascribe
meaning to the places and times we inhabit.
Ms. Sze’s work models and navigates the proliferation of
information in contemporary life. Her installations unfold like a
series of experiments that construct intimate systems of order.
Widely recognized for challenging the boundaries of painting,
installation and architecture, Ms. Sze’s sculptural practice ranges
from slight gestures discovered in hidden spaces to expansive
installations that scale walls.
Ms. Sze represented the United States at the Venice Biennale in
2013, and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003, and
a Radcliffe Fellowship in 2005. She has exhibited in museums
worldwide, and her works are held in the permanent collections
of prominent institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art,
the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American
Art, New York; The Fondation Cartier, Paris; The Museum of
Contemporary Art, Chicago; The San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art; and the Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles. Sze’s
work has been featured in The Whitney Biennial, the Carnegie
International, and several international biennials, including Berlin,
Guangzhou, Liverpool, Lyon, São Paulo, and Venice. Ms. Sze
has also created public works for the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the High
Line in New York. In 2016, Ms. Sze completed a permanent
commission for the New York Metropolitan Transportation
Authority’s 2nd Avenue subway line, 96th Street station which
received a Public Art Network award from Americans for the Arts.
Ms. Sze was born in Boston, Massachusetts and lives and works
in New York City.
Balloon Rabbit Award
Jeff Koons, a member of the Americans for the Arts Artists Committee, designed the National Arts Awards Balloon
Rabbit award in 2009. One of the world’s most preeminent artists, Mr. Koons’s work has been widely exhibited and
is in numerous public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and
the Guggenheim Museum in New York City; the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture
Garden in Washington, DC; The Eli Broad Family Foundation in Santa Monica, CA; the Tate Gallery in London; the
Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum; and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
in Bentonville, AK. In 2008, he was the fi rst contemporary artist to have his work installed at the Palais de Versailles
in France. A retrospective of Mr. Koons’ work, organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art is currently traveling
the globe. The Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards evokes both Mr. Koons’s iconic 1986 Rabbit sculpture as
well as the balloon forms of his Celebration Series and is truly a visual exemplifi cation of artistic “celebration!” We are
grateful to the artist and his studio for their generosity and support.
14
Studio in a School AssociationThomas Cahill
Barbara Cura
Ellen Emerson
Agnes Gund
Jeff Koons
Larry Levine
Dorothy Lichtenstein
The Noguchi Museum
Seijin Park
James R. Reynolds II
Jonas Stigh
William Lehr, Jr.Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet
Daryl Bughman Photography
Heather Doughty
Vicki Dubuisson
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
Chris Guerrisi
Philip Horn
Sam Krepps
Pennsylvania Council
on the Arts
Alice Anne Schwab
Susquehanna Art Museum
Theatre Harrisburg
Marian M. Warden
Whitaker Center for Science & Arts
Jeff Woodruff
Stefan Edlis and Gael NeesonThe Art Institute of Chicago
Estate of Alexander Calder
Robert Carl
Maurizio Cattelan
Eric Fischl
Anthony Freud
Holly Gilson
Madeleine Grynsztejn
Amanda Hicks
Jasper Johns
Jeff Koons
Justine Koons
Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
Karla Loring
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Brice Marden
Takashi Murakami
Museum of Contemporary Art,
Chicago
Richard Prince
Estate of Robert Rauschenberg
Charles Ray
Gerhard Richter
James Rondeau
Cindy Sherman
Estate of Cy Twombly
Estate of Andy Warhol
Andra Day42 West
Buskin Entertainment
Richard Channer
Common
Alexandra CrotinKaren Dupiche
Equal Justice Initiative
Jeffrey Evans
Good Morning America
Elise Mesa
Rosie Perez
Myriam Santos
Bryan Stevenson
Maki Somosot
Urban Arts Partnership
James Warren
Josh White
Thelma GoldenSaVonne Anderson
Adjaye Associates
Alani Bass
Mary Schmidt Campbell
Geoffrey Clements
Isoke Cullins
Joyce Davis
Ford Foundation
Amy Gadola
Elizabeth Gwinn
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
David Hammons
Texas Isaiah
Glenn Ligon
Adam Reich
Jessica Reynolds
Jarvis Ridges
Scott Rudd
Lorna Simpson
Julie Skarratt
Spelman College
Studio Museum in Harlem
Estate of Alma Thomas
Darren Walker
Jeanette Waters
Stanley Whitney
Whitney Museum of American Art
Kehinde Wiley
Fred Wilson
Clive DavisMichael Bernstein
Mariela Bradford
Sean Cassidy
Clive Davis Institute
of Recorded Music
Charles Ortner
Chris Perkel
Jeff Rabhan
Aliza Rabinoff
Kevin Sasaki
Sellers Webb
Sarah SzeMike Barnett
Yan Ma
Special Thanks Marilyn Bagel
Cipriani 42nd Street
Peggy Chapman
Crystal Cunningham
Mitch Curtis
DigiLink
Matt Eller, Afternoon Inc.
Jake Goldbas
Bianca Hirschowitz
Jeff Koons
Betsy Libretta
Gary McCraw
Jana and Larry Morales
Justin Morris, Morris Bureau
Nadine Johnson & Associates Inc.
National YoungArts Foundation
Emma Osore
Lauran Rothstein
Izzy Ruiz
Schmit Prototypes
Text Design, Inc.
TV Mambo
Wide Graphics, Inc.
Featured ArtSarah Sze(stage and journal cover image)
Timekeeper, 2016
Mixed media, mirrors, wood, stainless steel, archival pigment prints, projectors, lamps, desks, stools, stone
Dimensions variable
Installation view, Rose Museum of Art, 2016
Courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Victoria Miro Gallery
Photo: Mike Barnett
Sarah Sze(lobby gallery)
Blueprint for a Landscape, 2016
Porcelain Tile
Dimensions Variable
New York 2nd Avenue Subway line, 96th Street Station, 2016
Courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Victoria Miro Gallery
Photo: Tom Powel Imaging
Credits and Special Thanks
15
I am delighted to again be engaged with Americans for the Arts serving as the chair of the National Arts Awards, and I am proud
to lend my name to the award for lifetime achievement.
I was raised in a family immersed in American music history. My ancestral home, Dockery Farms in the Mississippi Delta, is
recognized by the National Register of Historic Places for its role in the creation of blues music. Musicians who once lived on the
farm or had a presence in the community include Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, and the late, great B.B. King, who
I helped connect with Americans for the Arts when he received our Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. The farm remains a
vibrant place of pilgrimage for musicians and enthusiasts alike.
From this musical foundation, I grew to passionately embrace all forms of the arts, and I am a strong champion for arts education.
Because of this, I was thrilled at the opportunity to support the National Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement.
This award has gone to recipients from every arts discipline and to such luminaries as opera singer Beverly Sills, the
choreographer Paul Taylor, architect Frank O. Gehry, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, actor/director Robert Redford, visual artist
John Baldessari, film legend Sophia Loren, and last year, the incomparable Tony Bennett.
I am so pleased that this year the award bearing my name goes to another legend in the music industry: Clive Davis. His
contributions to the world of popular music, arts education, and social justice, are truly remarkable.
Carolyn Clark Powers
Carolyn Clark Powers Lifetime Achievement Award
16
I am so pleased to have the opportunity to name this award after my late grandfather, Ted Arison. He and my grandmother, Lin,
were visionaries back in 1981 when they founded the National YoungArts Foundation. Their idea was to identify and support
the next generation of young artists in the visual, literary, design, and performing arts, assisting them at critical junctures in
their development. To date, YoungArts has provided more than 20,000 alumni with access to significant scholarships, national
recognition, and opportunities to study with renowned mentors.
The involvement of YoungArts with Americans for the Arts and the National Arts Awards goes back to 2009 when alumni and
students from our program became the featured performers at the event. The ceremony is a wonderful opportunity for these
young artists to shine in front of an audience of true arts enthusiasts. And I note with pride that several National Arts Awards
honorees have been associated with YoungArts, including my grandmother, Lin Arison, who received the Arts Education Award in
2012, and alumni Josh Groban and Kerry Washington, who are past recipients of the Young Artist Award.
We applaud Americans for the Arts for ensuring that young artists are expressly honored for their achievements, right alongside
the established artists who have made a lifetime of contributions to our country’s cultural landscape.
On behalf of the Arison Arts Foundation, I congratulate the amazing Andra Day as this year’s recipient of the award named for my
grandfather.
Sarah Arison
President, Arison Arts Foundation
Ted Arison Young Artist Award
17
Past Honorees
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Marian Anderson §
Dame Julie Andrews
Richard Avedon
George Balanchine §
John Baldessari
Tony Bennett ~
Leonard Bernstein §
Hume Cronyn §
Agnes DeMille §
Aretha Franklin
Frank O. Gehry
Martha Graham §
Helen Hayes §
Ellsworth Kelly
B.B. King +
Lincoln Kirstein §
Thomas Krens
Jacob Lawrence
Angela Lansbury
Sophia Loren ~
Richard Meier
Arthur Mitchell §
Jessye Norman §
William Paley §
Joseph Papp §
Itzhak Perlman §
Robert Redford
Jason Robards §
James Rosenquist +
Richard Serra
Beverly Sills §
Neil Simon §
Stephen Sondheim §
Frank Stella+
Isaac Stern §
Jessica Tandy §
Billy Taylor §
Paul Taylor
Lila Acheson Wallace §
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ARTS Doug Aitken
Edward Albee ‡
Herb Alpert
American Legion Auxiliary
Richard Avedon ‡
Will Barnet ‡
Mikhail Baryshnikov ‡
Harry Belafonte ‡
Chuck Close ‡
Betty Comden & Adolph
Green ‡
Barbara Cook ‡
Merce Cunningham ‡
Anna Deavere Smith ‡
Renée Fleming ‡
Herbie Hancock
Hugh Hardy ‡
Kitty Carlisle Hart
Al Hirschfeld ‡
Jenny Holzer
Judith Jamison ‡
Peter Martins ‡
Yoko Ono ‡
Nam June Paik ‡
Gordon Parks ‡
James Stewart Polshek ‡
Harold Prince ‡
Robert Rauschenberg ‡
Salman Rushdie ‡
Martin Scorsese ‡
Joel Shapiro
Beverly Sills ‡
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Paul Taylor ‡
Twyla Tharp ‡
ARTS ADVOCACY Alec Baldwin
Hillary Clinton
Chuck Close
Michael Greene, National
Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences
Phil Ramone
Christopher Reeve
Wendy Wasserstein
ARTS EDUCATIONLin Arison, YoungArts
Martina Arroyo, artist
William Bassell,
public school principal
Alberto M. Carvalho,
public school
superintendent
Schuyler Chapin, civic leader
Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne
Marceau, American
Ballroom Theater
Midori Goto, artist
Agnes Gund, philanthropist
Wynton Marsalis, artist
Arthur Mitchell, artist
The Mr. Holland’s Opus
Foundation
P.S. ARTS
President’s Committee on the
Arts and the Humanities
Alice Walton
ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Jeff Koons
Peter Martins
Ed Ruscha
Cindy Sherman
Kirk Varnedoe,
Memorial Tribute
Pinchas Zukerman,
Isaac Stern Award, Excellence Classical Music
CORPORATE HONOREES American Express
Amerindo Investment
Advisors
AT&T
AXA Art Insurance
Corporation
Bank of America
Citigroup, Inc.
FleetBoston
Financial Corporation
General Electric
The Hearst Corporation
IBM Corporation
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Lockheed Martin
The McGraw-Hill Companies
MetLife
Music Industry and NAMM
NationsBank
Principal Financial Group
Procter & Gamble
Target Corporation
Texaco Inc.
Time Warner
United Technologies
Corporation
VH1
Wells Fargo & Company
INDIVIDUAL PHILANTHROPY Paul G. Allen**
Wallis Annenberg*
Brooke Astor
Eli Broad*
Sidney Harman*
Joan W. Harris*
Martha Rivers Ingram**
Joan and Irwin Jacobs
Sheila C. Johnson*
Teresa Heinz Kerry*
Jo Carole Lauder
Raymond Nasher*
John and Mary Pappajohn**
David Rockefeller*
Vicki and Roger Sant**
Beverley Taylor Sorenson**
Roselyne Chroman Swig
LEGACY Maria Arena Bell
Madeleine H. Berman
Susan and David Goode
SPECIAL RECOGNITION Representative John Brademas
Bravo Television,
Excellence in Arts & Media
Representative
Amory Houghton, Jr.
Mike Jordan, CBS,
Outstanding Vision and
Exemplary Contributions
to the Arts
Institute for Museum and
Library Sciences, In Honor
of 25 Years of Service
National Endowment for the
Arts, In Honor of 40 years
of Service
Representative Jerrold Nadler
United States Conference of
Mayors, In Honor of its
75th Anniversary
YOUNG ARTISTSofia Coppola
Dakota Fanning
Lady Gaga
Josh Groban
Jake Gyllenhaal
David Hallberg
John Legend
Kate and Laura Mulleavy,
Rodarte
Natalie Portman
Gabourey Sidibe
Esperanza Spalding^
Mena Suvari
Uma Thurman
Kerry Washington
Kehinde Wiley
FEATURED ARTIST Will Cotton
Salvador Dali
Todd Eberle
Jeff Koons
Sol LeWitt
Kerry James Marshall
Julie Mehretu
Robert Rauschenberg
Kelly Richardson
Ed Ruscha
Kenny Scharf
Jennifer Steinkamp
Frank Stella
Andy Warhol
§ Arnold Gingrich Memorial
Award
‡ Kitty Carlisle Hart Award
* Frederick R. Weisman
Award for Philanthropy in
the Arts
** Eli and Edythe Broad
Award for Philanthropy in
the Arts
Bell Family Foundation
Young Artist Award
^Ted Arison Young Artist
Award
+ Isabella and Theodor
Dalenson Lifetime
Achievement Award
~ Carolyn Clark Powers
Lifetime Achievement
Award
18
Americans for the Arts Board of Directors
CHAIR
Abel Lopez
GALA Hispanic Theatre
Washington, DC
SECRETARY
Michael Spring
Miami-Dade County
Department of Cultural Affairs
Miami, FL
TREASURER
Julie Muraco
Praeditis Group LLC
New York, NY
VICE CHAIRS
Ramona Baker
Ramona Baker Consulting,
Master of Arts in Arts
Administration Program,
Goucher College
Indianapolis, IN
Maria Arena Bell
Vitameatavegamin Productions
Los Angeles, CA
John Haworth
National Museum of the
American Indian
New York, NY
William Lehr, Jr.
Capital Blue Cross
Hershey, PA
Timothy McClimon
American Express Foundation
New York, NY
Steven D. Spiess
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Denver, CO
AT LARGE
Susan S. Goode
Arts Patron
Norfolk, VA
Dorothy Pierce McSweeny
DC Commission on the
Arts and Humanities
Washington, DC
Margie Johnson Reese
Wichita Falls Alliance for
Arts and Culture
Wichita Falls, TX
Charmaine Warmenhoven
Warmenhoven Foundation
Monte Sereno, CA
DIRECTORS
Sarah Arison
Arison Arts Foundation
New York, NY
Leslie Blanton
Arts Patron
Houston, TX
Charles X Block
Bedrock Group LLC
Philadelphia, PA
Michelle Boone
Navy Pier, Inc.
Chicago, IL
Alessandra DiGiusto
Deutsche Bank
Americas Foundation
New York, NY
Floyd W. Green, III
Aetna, Inc.
Hartford, CT
Vijay Gupta
LA Philharmonic
Los Angeles, CA
Glen S. Howard
The Pew Charitable Trust
Washington, DC
Deborah Jordy
Colorado Business
Committee for the Arts
Denver, CO
Charles B. Ortner
Proskauer Rose LLP
Los Angeles, CA
Felix Padrón
Arts Administrator
San Antonio, TX
Carolyn Powers
Arts Patron
Manhattan Bech, CA
Barbara S. Robinson
Arts Patron
Cleveland, OH
Edgar L. Smith, Jr.
World Pac Paper, LLC
Cincinnati, OH
Tommy Sowers, Ph.D
U.S. Army
Solo
Chapel Hill, NC
Ann Stock
Women in Foreign Policy
Alexandria, VA
Nancy Stephens
Actress and Activist
Los Angeles, CA
Ty Stiklorius
Friends At Work
Venice, CA
Michael S. Verruto
HPI Capital LLC
Charlotte, NC
EX-OFFICIO
Robert L. Lynch
Americans for the Arts
Washington, DC
IN MEMORIAM
Peggy Amsterdam
Peter Donnelly
EMERITUS
Madeleine H. Berman
C. Kendric Fergeson
Fred Lazarus IV
19
Americans for the Arts Artists Committee
Doug Aitken
Jane Alexander
Kwaku Alston
Dame Julie Andrews
Martina Arroyo
Paul Auster
Bob Balaban
John Baldessari
Alec Baldwin
Tony Bennett
Lewis Black
Lauren Bon
Amy Brenneman
Connie Britton
Blair Brown
Kate Burton
Chuck Close
Will Cotton
Chuck D
Jacques d’Amboise
Carla Dirlikov Canales
Fran Drescher
Pierre Dulaine
Todd Eberle
Hector Elizondo
Giancarlo Esposito
Shepard Fairey
Suzanne Farrell
Laurence Fishburne
Ben Folds
Hsin-Ming Fung
Frank O. Gehry
Marcus Giamatti
Josh Groban
Vijay Gupta
David Hallberg
Hill Harper
Craig Hodgetts
Lorin Hollander
Jenny Holzer
Siri Hustvedt
David Henry Hwang
Melina Kanakaredes
Moisés Kaufman
Kenna
Jon Kessler
Richard Kind
Jeff Koons
Swoosie Kurtz
Norman Lear
Ledisi
John Legend
Liz Lerman
Glenn Ligon
John Lithgow
Graham Lustig
Kyle MacLachlan
Yo-Yo Ma
Yvonne Marceau
Peter Martins
Marlee Matlin
Kathy Mattea
Trey McIntyre
Julie Mehretu
Richard Meier
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Arthur Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Walter Mosley
Paul Muldoon
Kate Mulleavy
Laura Mulleavy
Matt Mullican
Shirin Neshat
Alessandro Nivola
Naomi Shihab Nye
Richard On
Yoko Ono
Harold Prince
Robert Redford
Michael Ritchie
Marc Roberge
Victoria Rowell
Salman Rushdie
Martin Scorsese
Laramie “Doc” Shaw
Cindy Sherman
Gabourey Sidibe
Anna Deavere Smith
Arnold Steinhardt
Meryl Streep
Holland Taylor
Julie Taymor
Marlo Thomas
Stanley Tucci
Ben Vereen
Leo Villareal
Edward Villella
Clay Walker
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Kerry Washington
William Wegman
Bradley Whitford
Kehinde Wiley
Henry Winkler
Joanne Woodward
Kulapat Yantrasast
Peter Yarrow
Michael York
IN MEMORIAM
Theodore Bikel
Ossie Davis
Patty Duke
Mary Rodgers Guettel
Skitch Henderson
Arthur Hiller
Paul Newman
Leonard Nimoy
John Raitt
Lloyd Richards
Billy Taylor
Wendy Wasserstein
20
About Americans for the Arts
Founded in 1960, Americans for the Arts is the
nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing
the arts and arts education. We are dedicated to
representing and serving local communities and to
creating opportunities for every American to participate
in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Each year,
Americans for the Arts provides a rich array of programs that meet the
needs of more than 150,000 members and stakeholders.
For more information about our programs or to learn how you
can become more involved in our work, please visit us online at
www.AmericansForTheArts.org or contact us at 202.371.2830 or
212.223.2787.
Artists Committee Member Ben Folds
speaks at a Summer Advocacy Fly-In
supporting the launch of Americans
for the Arts’ Arts and Economic
Prosperity 5 study.
Javier Gonzalez, Mayor of Santa Fe,
presents at the 2017 National Arts
Policy Roundtable in Sundance, Utah.
Singer and songwriter Esperanza Spalding accepts the
Ted Arison Young Artist Award at the 2016 National Arts
Awards.
National Arts Policy Roundtable Fellow Braxton Cook
performs at the 2017 National Arts Policy Roundtable in
Sundance, Utah.
President and CEO Robert L. Lynch kicks off Arts
Advocacy Day 2017.
Music producer Sol Guy speaks at the 2017 National Arts
Policy Roundtable in Sundance, Utah.
Artists Committee and Board Member Brian Stokes
Mitchell, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker,
Artists Committee Member Anna Deavere Smith, Artists
Committee Member Ben Vereen, Actress Gabrielle Ruiz,
and Board Member Edgar Smith, at the 2017 Post-Hanks
Lecture Dinner during Arts Advocacy Day.
Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of
the Equal Justice Initiative, delivers the keynote address
at Americans for the Arts’ 2017 Annual Convention in
San Francisco.
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THIS YEARS
NATIONAL
ARTS AWARDS
HONOREES
Carolyn Clark Powers
We applaud Americans for the Arts for more than 55 years
of ensuring that arts and arts education are available to all!
– Gael Neeson and Stefan Edlis
Congratulations!
CLIVE J. DAVISTisch Dean's Council,
NYU Alumnus, Friend & Namesake Founder of the
Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music
We are grateful for your leadership and generosity.
We salute you!
Dean Allyson Green& All Your Fans
Thank you Americans for the Arts for taking a stand for the arts.
We are proud to stand with you, and congratulate this year’s exceptional honorees.
Sarah Arison
My congratulations and support to
Americans for the Artsin honoring
THELMA GOLDEN &
STUDIO IN A SCHOOL&
Clive Davis, Gael Neeson and Stefan EdlisWilliam Lehr, Jr., Andra Day and Sarah Sze
who have done so much to make a diff erence through the arts
With much gratitudeAgnes Gund
Congratulations to Americans for the Arts and
the 2017 National Arts Awards honorees.
Your work in and on behalf of the arts are needed and appreciated now more than ever.
The Rosenthal Family Foundation, Rick Rosenthal and Nancy Stephens, Jane Stephens Rosenthal, and
Jamie Rosenthal Wolf and David Wolf
We congratulate tonight’s honorees and applaud
Americans for the Arts
for their dedicated leadership and
tireless support of the arts in America
Congratulations to Studio in a School for 40 years of inspiring and serving
the New York City Public Schools and its students
Roy Lichtenstein Foundation
In Warm Memory ofJohn Moran
Producer of the National Arts Awards
from 1999 – 2016
ClevelandArt.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art
is proud to congratulate Studio
in a School. Your mission to provide
public school students with
access to an exceptional arts
education is truly an inspiration.
Americans for the Arts Congratulates
Robert L. Lynch on his 32nd year as our President and CEO
10.22.18
Save the Date
for the 2018 National Arts Awards
Congratulations to
Carolyn Clark Powers with Affection and Gratitude
from the Board and Staff of Americans for the Arts