TPAC Announces 2012 Lumies Arts & Business Award Nominees
For Immediate Release :: May 2, 2012
Press Release
Contact: Roberto Bedoya | 520.624.0595 x. 25
TPAC Announces 2012 Lumies Arts & Business Award Nominees
TUCSON, AZ – Tucson Pima Arts Council is thrilled to announce the slate of nominees for the 2012 Lumies Arts and Business Awards, which celebrate the outstanding businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals who help build the unique and distinctive character of Tucson and Pima County.
Nominees for this year’s Lumies include bedrocks of the arts and culture community whose patronage has buoyed organizations and artists through the economic difficulties of the past year as well as brand new arts programs and organizations whose work has already made a big splash.
The Artist Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a county resident for an outstanding creative body of work, includes a diverse cadre of local superstars. Tucson Symphony Orchestra director George Hanson, visual and performing artist To-Ree-Nee Wolf McArdle, artist and curator Gail Marcus Orlen, botanical illustrator Manabu Saito, and visual artist Marvin Shaver have all received nods in this category. The Outstanding Emerging Artist Awards recognize newer talent who show exceptional promise. The nominees are poet Amy Briseño, visual artist Mel “Melo” Dominguez, musician Sergio Mendoza, and muralist Joe Pagac.
Nominees for the Outstanding Established Arts Organization include treasured Pima County institutions 91.3 KXCI Community Radio, Children’s Museum of Tucson, Museum of Contemporary Art, New ARTiculations Dance Theatre, Rhythm and Roots, University of Arizona Press, and UA Presents. They will be recognized alongside newcomers in the Outstanding Emerging Arts Organization nominees Fluxx Studio & Gallery, the Fund for Civility, Respect & Understanding’s Antibullying Task Force, Stories that Soar!, and Velociprints.
Winners will be announced at the Lumies Arts & Business Awards ceremony on June 15, 2012, at El Casino Ballroom in Tucson. The annual celebration includes a casual reception, dinner, awards ceremony, and post-event dancing. This year’s musical performance will be Emerging Artist nominee Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta, who will infuse his unique brand of “classic big band Latin indie mambo” music for the delight of guests, nominees, and winners. The general public is invited to attend and toast the accomplishments of the entire region’s arts and culture movers and shakers.
To demonstrate the symbiotic relationship and partnerships between arts and business, the Lumies recognize both small and large businesses for their nurturing, support, and championing of local arts endeavors. Outstanding Large Business Partner nominees include Buffalo Exchange, which sponsors an annual arts award; General Growth Properties, which sponsors myriad arts events at Tucson and Park Place Malls, and the Tucson International Airport, which displays a variety of art by local and regional artists. Outstanding Small Business Partner nominees are Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea, home to the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam events; Cemrock, which assists public artists and constructs rock-like facades for our cultural institutions; Feast, which displays local art; Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, PC, which turned its offices into a rotating art gallery; and Tucson Botanical Gardens, which extends invitations to artists to curate shows on its grounds.
Arts and culture organizations rely heavily on support from donors and volunteers as well. The Outstanding Arts Patron award nominees include exceptional individuals whose commitment to growing arts and culture opportunities in our region had a significant impact on a variety of organizations. The nominees for 2012 are Jean-Paul Bierny, Al & Marilyn Cook, Fletcher McCusker, and Julie Sasse.
This year’s newest category, the Outstanding Public Art Partner, recognizes significant contributions to public art display by a business or organization. The inaugural nominees include Beyond Bread, Northwest Medial Center – Oro Valley Hospital, and Tucson Medical Center, all of which have made steps to curate public art collections on their grounds.
Because of the significant value arts education has on the intellectual and social development of all county residents, especially children, TPAC also sponsors categories to recognize exceptional programs and teachers. The Oustanding Art Educator Award nominees include David Andres, Mariana Carreras, and Stevie Mack. Outstanding Arts Education Program nominees include Odaiko Sonora, Pan Left Productions, the University of Arizona Poetry Center, Tucson Arts Brigade, and Tucson Jazz Institute.
“The Lumie” is the name of the physical award presented to each winner. Designed and produced by local artist Tom Philabaum, each Lumie is a beautiful disc of hand blown glass, crafted to resemble the intricate markings of natural snakeskin. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to the arts by Pima County residents whose work nurtures our community, our economy, and Pima County’s unique identity. The Awards began in 2001 as the Mayor’s Arts Awards under the leadership of Beth Walkup. In 2005, it was renamed the Tucson Pima Arts and Business Awards to emphasize the relationship between the arts, artists, and local commerce.
Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://lumies2012.eventbrite.com. Admission is $35 in advance or $45 at the door.
Nominee List
Established Arts Organization
91.3 KXCI Community Radio
Chidren’s Museum Tucson
Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
New ARTiculations Dance Theater
Rhythm and Roots
The University of Arizona Press
UApresents
Large Business Partner
Buffalo Exchange
General Growth Properties – Tucson Mall & Park Place
Tucson Airport Authority/Tucson International Airport
Arts Patron
Jean-Paul Bierny
Al & Marilyn Cook
Fletcher McCusker
Julie Sasse
Small Business Partner
Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea
Cemrock
Feast
Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C.
Tucson Botanical Gardens
Artist Lifetime Achievement
George Hanson
To-Ree-Nee Wolf McArdle
Gail Marcus Orlen
Manabu Saito
Marvin Shaver
Arts Education Program
Odaiko Sonora
Pan Left Productions
The University of Arizona Poetry Center
Tucson Arts Brigade
Tucson Jazz Institute
Visiting Artists, Scholars & Exhibitions program (VASE) – University of Arizona College of Fine Arts School of Art
Arts Educator
David Andres
Mariana Carreras
Stevie Mack
Public Art Partner
Beyond Bread
Northwest Medical Center – Oro Valley Hospital
Tucson Medical Center
Emerging Arts Organization
Fluxx Studio & Gallery
Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding a project of the Community Foundation for Southern
Arizona Anti-Bullying Task Force
Stories that Soar!
VelociPrints
Emerging Artist
Amy Briseño
Mel “Melo” Dominguez
Sergio Mendoza
Joe Pagac
Rebecca Thompson
