Tucson Pima Arts Council has announced the nominees for recognition at the 2015 Lumies Awards. Meanwhile, Flagstaff Arts Council is accepting nominations for their annual Viola awards. These two annual events celebrate the myriad ways in which arts and culture contribute to Arizona’s communities.
The Tucson Pima Arts Council will host the 2015 Lumies Arts & Business Awards on Friday, September 18 at Tucson Museum of Art Plaza. Now in its 14th year, the Lumies— short for luminaries—shine a special light on the many extraordinary individuals and organizations that make Southern Arizona an exceptionally vibrant center of arts and culture.
KXCI General Manager Cathy Rivers will serve as the evening’s emcee while DJ Dirtyverbs (aka, Logan Phillips) will offer “his signature Sonoran-flavored spins on the turntable.”
Complete 2015 Lumies Award Categories & Nominees
Artist Award
Fernando Romero, Musician
Steven Eye, Artist and Founder, Solar Culture
Michael Cajero, Sculpture
Catherine Nash, Artist
Wil Taylor, Artist
Bill Mackey, Artist and Architect
Adam Rex, Children’s Book Illustrator and Author
Joe Pagac, Artist
Ben Olmstead & Simon Donovan, Public Artists
Arts and Cultural Advocate Award
Arizona Public Media
Stevie Mack, President, Crizmac Art & Cultural Materials
Arts Education Award
Maria Gawne, Broadway Camp LLC
Jon and Kathy Thuerbach, Founders and Executive Director, Christian Youth Theater
City High School
Linda Cato, Linda Cato Art
Linda Solomon, Founder, Pictures of Hope
Romero House Potters
Stories That Soar!
Chelsea Farrar, Assistant Curator of Education, University of Arizona Museum of Art
Janice Jarrett, Music Educator
Herschel Kreloff, Music Director, Civic Orchestra of Tucson
Business Award
Jim Click Automotive Group
Northern Trust Company
Sarnoff Art Materials
Rialto Theatre
Michael Varney, President and CEO, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Arts Organization Award
Southwest Indian Art Fair, Arizona State Museum
Ben’s Bells Project
Cirque Roots
Esperanza Dance Project
Live Theatre Workshop
Lonely Street Productions
Odyssey Storytelling
The Drawing Studio
Tucson Fringe
Tucson Pastel Society
Xerocraft Hackerspace
David Hoyt Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts
Diana Madaras, Owner of Madaras Gallery and Volunteer at Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT)
Rick Wamer, Director of Theatrical Mime Theatre, WamerMime
Dr. Paula Fan, Principle Keyboard, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Regents Professor of Music, University of Arizona
Jeff Yanc, Program Director, Loft Cinema
Debbie Overbey, Founder / Owner, zonie.com
Mark McLemore, host of Arizona Spotlight, Arizona Public Media
Lynn Davis, Director of Arts & Culture, Tucson Jewish Community Center
Emerging Artist or Arts Organization Award
Exploded View
Jazz in January, organization responsible for the first Tucson Jazz Festival
Musical Mayhem Cabaret
Safos Dance Theatre
Viola Awards nominations now open
In Northern Arizona, Flagstaff Arts Council celebrates the region’s arts and sciences each spring with the Viola Awards, named for the late Viola Babbitt, a painter and long-time advocate of the arts. Anyone can nominate an artist, leader, organization, business or event for an award in one of eleven categories. The pool of nominees is narrowed after a preliminary review by a panel of past Viola Award winners and experts in the field. The panel then meets to determine the winner in each category.
The Viola Award winners are announced each year at the Viola Awards Gala Event.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2016 Viola Awards in the following categories:
- Visual artists for artistically excellent works of art completed in 2015
- Musicians for excellent performances or published recordings in 2015 (Performing Arts category)
- Performers and/or directors of excellent theatrical performances in 2015
- Film makers for excellent film productions in 2015 (Storytelling category)
- Writers for excellent stories, plays, books or collections of writings in 2015
- Arts and science educators
- Leaders in the arts and sciences
- Businesses for their support and philanthropy in the arts and/or sciences
- Emerging artists
- Individuals in the arts and sciences for a lifetime of contribution to the field (Legacy Award)
Photo: 2015 Viola Award winners. Photo courtesy of Flagstaff Arts Council, by Matt Beaty 2015.
