2019 St. Louis Arts Awards | Arts and Education Council of St. Louis
2019-01-21 17:00:00 2019-01-21 17:00:00 America/Chicago 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards 5:00 p.m. cocktail reception | 6:30 p.m. dinner, awards & entertainment The St. Louis Arts Awards honors the artists, educators, philanthropists, corporate citizens and arts organizations that make our region so vibrant. It is an elegant evening of cocktails and dinner, an awards presentation and awe-inspiring performances - all packed into just four hours. 2019 performances include singing sensation Kennedy Holmes (season 15 finalist, NBC's The Voice), The Big Muddy Dance Company, 11-year-old piano phenom Jerry Chang, and The Sheldon's City of Music All-Star Chorus, with a special appearance from actor Bryan Batt of AMC's "Mad Men". Proceeds benefit the Arts and Education Council, which offers programs and services that benefit more than 70 arts and arts education organizations impacting 1.6 million people throughout the 16-county, bi-state region. Co-chairs of the 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards are 10th Street Gallery owners Solomon Thurman and Pat Smith Thurman. Adrienne Davis, Washington University vice provost and arts advocate, will serve as emcee. Centene Charitable Foundation returns as presenting sponsor of this year’s event and Edward Jones and Emerson return as principal sponsors. Presenting sponsor 212 Kingshighway Blvd St. Louis MO 63108

2019 St. Louis Arts Awards

Date: 
January 21, 2019
Location: 
Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Royal Sonesta Hotel
212 Kingshighway Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63108

5:00 p.m. cocktail reception | 6:30 p.m. dinner, awards & entertainment

The St. Louis Arts Awards honors the artists, educators, philanthropists, corporate citizens and arts organizations that make our region so vibrant. It is an elegant evening of cocktails and dinner, an awards presentation and awe-inspiring performances - all packed into just four hours. 2019 performances include singing sensation Kennedy Holmes (season 15 finalist, NBC's The Voice), The Big Muddy Dance Company, 11-year-old piano phenom Jerry Chang, and The Sheldon's City of Music All-Star Chorus, with a special appearance from actor Bryan Batt of AMC's "Mad Men".

Proceeds benefit the Arts and Education Council, which offers programs and services that benefit more than 70 arts and arts education organizations impacting 1.6 million people throughout the 16-county, bi-state region.

Co-chairs of the 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards are 10th Street Gallery owners Solomon Thurman and Pat Smith Thurman. Adrienne Davis, Washington University vice provost and arts advocate, will serve as emcee. Centene Charitable Foundation returns as presenting sponsor of this year’s event and Edward Jones and Emerson return as principal sponsors.

Presenting sponsor

Centene Logo

Honorees

Ken Page
Lifetime Achievement in the Arts

Ken Page

Ken Page, born and raised in St. Louis, started his career at The Muny, appearing as a chorus member at the St. Louis landmark the summer after his freshman year at Fontbonne College. He has returned to The Muny stage almost every year since 1994, even after his acting career took him to movie and television screens and countless stages performing on Broadway and in London’s West End. Page is perhaps best known as voice of Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” His Broadway and New York credits include the original Broadway cast of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Cats”, “Guys and Dolls” and “The Wiz”. In recent years, Page has developed and performed his concert of “Page by Page”, and directed various regional and touring productions, including a 2017 production of “Carousel” with Union Avenue Opera. His productions of “Café Chanson” and “Sublime Intimacy” as writer/director received six St. Louis Theatre Circle Award nominations, including Best New Play and Best Director.

Noémi and Michael Neidorff
Excellence in Philanthropy

Noémi and Michael Neidorff

Noémi and Michael Neidorff have championed and supported the St. Louis arts and cultural community for more than three decades. The Neidorffs consistently demonstrate their deep-rooted and personal love for the St. Louis region’s arts and cultural community through their philanthropic giving, influence and leadership at dozens of organizations, including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Radio Arts Foundation-St. Louis, the St. Louis Symphony (all A&E grantees) and the Arts and Education Council, among others. Nationally, Michael Neidorff serves as Chairman of the Board of the National Urban League and treasurer on the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Brent Benjamin
Excellence in the Arts

Brent Benjamin

Brent Benjamin, Barbara B. Taylor Director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, has been committed to strengthening the museum’s collection and enriching visitors’ experiences since he became director in 1999. He led the initiative to expand the museum and raise $160 million in the largest capital campaign for a cultural institution in St. Louis. He has overseen the purchase of numerous works of art, has secured important gifts of major works of art and entire collections and has launched several art education and community programs that have enriched the arts and culture of St. Louis.

Sue Greenberg
Champion for the Arts

Sue Greenberg

Sue Greenberg has been a fixture in the St. Louis arts community, advocating for the arts and artists year-round, for more than 30 years. Greenberg serves as part-time executive director of the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA), which provides time and expertise to nonprofits navigating financial and legal matters. VLAA also provides information and skills training designed to help the creative community develop sound business practices and protect their rights. Additionally, Greenberg is company manager at The Muny during the summers and teaches legal issues in the arts for Webster University’s Arts Leadership graduate program.

Chris Hansen
Arts Innovator

Chris Hansen

Chris Hansen, executive director of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation (KAF), is a leader who thinks about the work of supporting artists and arts organizations differently. Since taking the helm in August 2013, Hansen has used his resources, partnerships and innovative thinking to transform the St. Louis arts community. Under Hansen’s leadership, KAF has opened the .ZACK performing arts incubator, restored the historic Grandel Theatre and launched artist residency programs and opened the Marcelle and The Dark Room on Grand (now in the Grandel Theatre). In May 2018, Hansen and his team announced KAF’s plans to develop affordable housing and studio options for artists in the Gravois Park area.

Tennessee Williams
Arts Startup of the Year

Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis

Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis, since its first season in 2016, has attracted thousands of attendees to the readings, panel discussions, concerts, art exhibitions, productions and playwriting contests celebrating the art and influence of Tennessee Williams. The Festival has also offered educational outreach programs for underserved students to read and see plays and partnered with many St. Louis arts organizations to create lively, multi-faceted programming honoring the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.

Amy Freet
Art Educator of the Year

Amy Freet

Amy Freet seeks out any opportunity to enrich her students’ lives through music. She teaches general music and string orchestra at Airport Elementary and string orchestra at the new STEAM Academy in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Freet successfully seeks out grants and opportunities for performances, internships, arts experiences and transportation which are valued at up to $32,000 per year. She also uses her background in music therapy to establish programs that promote mental and behavioral health within the Ferguson-Florissant School District and the community, often incorporating music. Freet holds bachelor’s degrees in education and psychology from Maryville College and is a registered music therapist.

Entertainment

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