Contact: Jason A. Smith, communications director
Randall Berndt, co-chair, WVALAA Board
MADISON—The 7th annual Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement awards ceremony will be held at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MWA) on Sunday, May 23, at 1:30 pm, in West Bend, WI. Founded in 2004 as a collaboration between MWA, Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors/Artists in All Media (now Wisconsin Visual Artists) and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the WVALAA is essentially the in-state “Hall of Fame.” This prestigious award is bestowed upon individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, support, and growth of visual arts in and of Wisconsin. This includes artists, organizations, teachers, patrons, art historians and authors. The goal of the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Awards is to elevate the status of Wisconsin’s visual art by honoring those whose contributions are substantial and in many cases often overlooked by people outside of our region.
Receiving the 2010 WVALAA:
* Fred Berman
* Abraham Cohn
* Miriam Frink & Charlotte Partridge
* William Gerdts
* Frederick Wilhelm Heine
* Carl Holty
* Vinnie Ream Hoxie, the Layton School of Art
* Dean Meeker, the Milwaukee Art Museum
* Karl Priebe
* Roy Staab
Mary Louise Schumacher, art and architecture critic of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be the 2010 award ceremony guest speaker with a talk entitled: “Covering the Arts: the New Paradigm.” Over the last 15 years the internet, social media, newspapers, film, camera, cell phones and image dissemination have profoundly changed traditional media to the point that the old ways of covering, and being informed about the arts, has changed forever. Attendees who arrive early can hear, at 12:30 pm, a presentation by James Shields of HGA Architects of Milwaukee on the new design for the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s new building, slated to begin construction in 2010. Reservations not required, but seating is limited. For more information visit http://www.wvalaa.com or, contact co-chairs Randall Berndt of the James Watrous Gallery (Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters); David Sear, Wisconsin Visual Artists, 414-771-5914; or Graeme Reid, Museum of Wisconsin Art, 262-334-9638.
West Bend Mutual Insurance Company is proud to sponsor this, the seventh Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Awards. Additional support is provided by Wisconsin Visual Artists (three chapters). the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay and individual contributions.
About the James Watrous Gallery
The James Watrous Gallery is the premier gallery for Wisconsin visual art. A program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the James Watrous Gallery presents works by Wisconsin artists, Wisconsin art and craft history, works owned by Wisconsin collectors, and exhibitions that bridge the sciences, arts, and humanities. Our mission is to promote the visual arts in Wisconsin through quality exhibitions and related educational programs. For gallery summer hours and more information on exhibiting artists, please visit wisconsinacademy.org/galleries or call 608-265-2500.
