National Arts Awards Monday, October 19, 2015
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2015 Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards Monday, October 19, 2015 Welcome from Robert L. Lynch Performance by YoungArts Alumni President and CEO of Americans for the Arts Musical Director, Jake Goldbas Philanthropy in the Arts Award Legacy Award Joan and Irwin Jacobs Maria Arena Bell Presented by Christopher Ashley Presented by Jeff Koons Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award Young Artist Award Herbie Hancock Lady Gaga 1 Presented by Paul Simon Presented by Klaus Biesenbach Arts Education Award Carolyn Clark Powers Alice Walton Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by Agnes Gund Sophia Loren Presented by Rob Marshall Dinner Closing Remarks Remarks by Robert L. Lynch and Abel Lopez, Chair, introduction of Carolyn Clark Powers Americans for the Arts Board of Directors and Robert L. Lynch Remarks by Carolyn Clark Powers Chair, National Arts Awards Greetings from the Board Chair and President Welcome to the 2015 National Arts Awards as Americans for the Arts celebrates its 55th year of advancing the arts and arts education throughout the nation. This year marks another milestone as it is also the 50th anniversary of President Johnson’s signing of the act that created America’s two federal cultural agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Americans for the Arts was there behind the scenes at the beginning and continues as the chief advocate for federal, state, and local support for the arts including the annual NEA budget. Each year with your help we make the case for the funding that fuels creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. Some additional numbers help tell this story. In 1965, an estimated 7,000 nonprofit arts organizations were in existence. Today, there are more than 95,000— from the flagship institutions anchoring our nation’s largest cities to the grassroots all-volunteer coalitions that have emerged across the country. All of them are focused on enabling art to thrive in whatever community they serve. In addition, we continue to provide essential research that helps make the case for the arts and 2 arts education in our communities. We also just celebrated the 10th anniversary of our National Arts Policy Roundtable program at Sundance, where over the last decade we have gathered more than 400 top thought leaders, policy makers, and artists in proactive discussions about the arts that result in positive change and action. Tonight we honor some of the individuals instrumental to this blossoming of art in America. They are exceptional artists and committed philanthropists who inspire and nurture—and they are most deserving of our accolades. We are also delighted to welcome Carolyn Clark Powers as our incoming chair of this evening’s event, and we thank all of you with us tonight for what you do throughout the year to better America through the arts. Abel Lopez Robert L. Lynch Chair, Board of Directors President and CEO 3 The National Arts Awards Chair Dear Friends of Americans for the Arts, I am so pleased to serve as the new chair of The National Arts Awards, especially after having participated as a past co-chair and having attended this wonderful event in years past. It is always a night to remember. Here at the National Arts Awards, we celebrate the arts from all disciplines, and we are proud to be one of the few national organizations to do so. Annually we transform the space at Cipriani with visual art, and we get to enjoy a performance by some of our country’s budding young talent that comes to us through The National YoungArts Foundation. We are privileged to be surrounded tonight by the work of Chicago-based artist Kerry James Marshall, whose work here gives us both an indoor view of an artist’s studio, in the recent work that greeted you at the entrance, to the great work from the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, from 1995, which shows us an outdoor scene of an American neighborhood. 4 I am very proud to have my name now associated with that of our Lifetime Achievement Award, and this year’s recipient, Sophia Loren. Her incredible career is testament to a talent that spans decades and the entire globe, and we are so glad she has traveled from Europe to join us this evening with her family. I spend much of my time in Southern California, so I am thrilled that we are recognizing Joan and Irwin Jacobs for their extraordinary philanthropic commitment to the arts in San Diego and La Jolla where they make their home. They are also national leaders in philanthropy and we applaud all that they have done to nurture the arts. I am equally delighted to see Alice Walton acknowledged for her loyalty to her hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas and for all that she has done as an innovator in arts education and in ensuring arts access for all. Her expansive vision of bringing the best of American art to northwest Arkansas and its neighboring communities is beyond compare. The National Arts Awards Chair Lady Gaga receives the Young Artist Award tonight. She is truly an artist who transcends boundaries, having excelled in music, fashion, the visual arts, and now in acting, as she begins her role as the star of this season’s American Horror Story. In spite of her busy creative schedule, she still finds time to work on issues of empowering youth and building better and more equitable communities through her Born this Way Foundation. The Legacy Award tonight goes to the incredible Maria Bell, who served as the chair of this event for the past 10 years. Maria and I are good friends and have many common philanthropic interests and sit on many boards together. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Maria’s passionate commitment to the arts first-hand and she is a most deserving recipient at an event that has grown so much through her efforts. Finally, the Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award goes to a man who I revere as an artist, and love as a friend, Herbie Hancock. We have worked together on a number of arts education initiatives, through the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the LA Philharmonic, and the GRAMMY Foundation, to name but a few. Our nation has no better musical ambassador, both at home and abroad than Herbie Hancock, who has done so much to shape the sound of today’s music. 5 I am deeply grateful to my tireless co-chairs, Sarah Arison, Gagosian Gallery, David and Susan Goode, Agnes Gund, Susan and John Hess, Nora C. Orphanides, and Regina K. Scully, as well as our benefit committee and all of you here tonight who have made this evening possible. And of course, I thank the honorees for allowing us to acknowledge their indelible cultural contributions. Carolyn Clark Powers Benefit Committee Carolyn Clark Powers Chair Sarah Arison Co-Chairs Gagosian Gallery David and Susan Goode Agnes Gund Susan and John Hess Nora C. Orphanides Regina K. Scully Benefit Committee Page and Lou Adler 6 Herb Alpert Bill Bell Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy Gail and Alfred Engelberg Suzanne and David Johnson Allison and Warren Kanders Justine and Jeff Koons Gael Neeson and Stefan Edlis Mrs. Lily Safra IRWIN M. AND JOAN K. JACOBS Philanthropy in the Arts Award Irwin Jacobs is the establish the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute founding chairman at Cornell NYC Tech—the embodiment of Cornell’s and and CEO emeritus of the Technion’s partnership at the new campus. Qualcomm, Inc., where In the field of arts and culture in their adopted he pioneered and led hometown, the Jacobs have been significant the commercialization contributors to the San Diego Symphony, San Diego’s of Code Division public TV and radio station, KPBS, the La Jolla Multiple Access (CDMA) Playhouse, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San technology, the basis Diego, among many others. for all third generation Last week, they received the 2015 Carnegie Medal for cellular communications Philanthropy, given every two years to individuals who, technology. Today, Qualcomm is the world’s largest like Andrew Carnegie, have dedicated their private fabless semiconductor producer and the largest wealth to the public good and who have impressive provider of wireless chipset and software technology. careers as philanthropists. He was previously a professor of engineering, first at MIT and later at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), now home to the Jacobs School Christopher Ashley, presenter of Engineering. Dr. Jacobs has received numerous Christopher Ashley has served as La Jolla Playhouse’s prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Artistic Director since October, 2007. During his tenure, 7 Technology from President Clinton for his vision and he has helmed the Playhouse’s productions of The extraordinary success as an engineer and business Darrell Hammond Project, Chasing the Song, His Girl Friday, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Dram of Drummhicit, A leader. Midsummer Night’s Dream, Restoration and the acclaimed Joan Jacobs is a graduate of Cornell University’s College musicals Xanadu and Memphis, which won four 2010 Tony of Human Ecology, and with her husband, a global Awards including Best Musical. He also spearheaded philanthropist and patron of the arts. At UCSD, she the Playhouse’s Without Walls (WoW) series, the DNA served on the Board of Overseers and as a trustee and New Work Series and the Resident Theater program. former vice chair of the UCSD Foundation. She serves Prior to joining the Playhouse, he directed the Broadway on the Executive Committee of the La Jolla Playhouse at productions of Xanadu (Drama Desk nomination), All UCSD in addition to being a director on its board and is Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk a founding member of the university’s Stuart Collection.