The Flagstaff Arts Council has officially announced the nominees for their 8th annual Viola Awards Gala. Described as “Flagstaff’s Oscars for the arts,” the Gala will be presented on March 5, 2016, at the High County Conference Center in Flagstaff. The Viola Awards celebrate excellence in the arts and sciences, recognizing artists, educators, organizations, and leaders who make positive contributions to the arts and sciences in Flagstaff.
A panel of forty-one artists, educators, past Viola Award winners, and professionals in the field selected the nominees from many more submitted to the Arts Council by community members over the past year.
Not sure who to root for? You can see many of the 2016 nominees in action at the Viola Award Nominee Showcase at the Orpheum Theater on February 4, 2016.
At the Gala event, the Flagstaff Arts Council will also honor Charly Spining, recipient of the 2016 Viola Legacy Award, which recognizes Lifetime Contribution to the Arts. Spining is a musician, educator and one of the founding Board members of the Flagstaff Light Opera Company. Those who have dined at the Weatherford Hotel in downtown Flagstaff may recognize his name. The hotel restaurant is named for him.
2016 Official Viola Award Nominees
Excellence in the Visual Arts
Bryan David Griffith: Broken Equilibrium
Sky Black & Mural Mice: Sound of Flight
John Sherman: Plight of the Condor
Michael Collier & Rose Houk: Dispassionate Landscapes
David Dawangyumptewa & Debra Edgerton: Echoes & Undercurrents
Sei Saito: Journey
Excellence in Storytelling
Holt Hamilton: Legends From the Sky
Justin Bigos: Fingerprints
James Q Martin: Drawn
Linda Sutera & Ann Cummins: 2015 Northern Arizona Playwriting Showcase
Judson McGehee: Clear Creek
Kevin Schindler: The View from Mars Hill
2015 Columnists: Letters from Home series
Jane Armstrong & Christopher Taylor: Aphasia: Neurological Disorder in Text & Image
Excellence in Arts Education
Mike Levin
Jessica Soifer
Joe Maniglia
Laura Abrams
Joe Cornett
Excellence in Science Education
Rich Krueger
Sean Ryan
Kaci Heins
Jillian Worssam
Chris Luginbuhl
Anslem ‘Andy’ Yazzie
Excellence in the Performing Arts
NAU Lyric Theater: Trouble in Tahiti
Flagstaff Symphony, Master Chorale, Shrine of the Ages & Flagstaff Youth Chorale: Carmina Burana
Vicki Thompson: Good People
Tow’rs: The Great Minimum
Muskellunge: Preying or Praying
Jan Rominger: The Full Monty
Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy: Godspell
NAU Theater: The School for Lies
Emerging Artist
Suzanne Stebila
Katharina Roth
Erin Brinkman
Areya Kugler
Kameron Owens
Leadership
Robert Breunig
Chris Luginbuhl
Terri Engel
Matt Ziegler
Jeff Hall
Janelle Reasor
Business for the Arts
The Framing Department at Hidden Light
Firecreek Coffee Company
Tom Alexander Photography
Uptown Pubhouse
Freeman Law
To learn more about the Viola Awards, visit the Viola Awards section of the Flagstaff Arts Council website.
