A New Spin
Judith Mansour
Thomas
Angle Magazine, issue 24.
Friday, January 06, 2006
"Ask not what
the artist can do for you; ask what you can do for the artist,"
might be the new unofficial slogan of the re-tooled Cleveland Arts
Prize. After a two-year hiatus, the Arts Prize is back under the
new direction of Terri Pontremoli, formerly of the Tri-C Jazz Festival,
and the con¬tinued vision of Board Chair Kathleen Coakley Barrie.
In 2002, then Execu¬tive Director Diana Tittle decided that categories,
prizes, and processes had become stale: "For a prize to mean something,
it has to be valued by the artist as well as the community."
Historically,
prizes celebrated significant, sustained achievement in visual arts,
literature, music, dance, and architecture. Recipients had long,
established histories in their respective fields. The creation of
the newest category is the most exciting, Emerging Artist, which
carries an award of $5,000, an accolade for an individual under
the age of forty.
Another newly
created category is Design, which includes urban planning, architecture,
landscape architecture and industrial design. Additionally, some
past categories have been merged: historically, Dance and Music
functioned separately. They are now linked so that composers, choreographers,
performers, and musicians have an equal chance to submit original
work. Finally, Literature and Visual Arts remain intact, awarding
two Cleveland Arts prizes, $2,500 to each winner.
Of the many
changes, Pontremoli explains, "It seems that in years past, the
process unintentionally became more of the focus than the artist.
Now, with the awards having more financial heft, it is our goal
that the award money will support additional work, performances,
exhibits.. .that benefit the artist as well as the region." She
further explains that by redefining awards, the organization hopes
to spotlight recipients in a way that leads to further professional
successes.
However, not
all things must change. To pay homage to historical missions which
rewarded vast contributions in a particular field, Honorary Awards
have been created: The Lifetime Achievement Award, The Robert P.
Bergman Prize, and the Martha Joseph Citation for Distinguished
Service to the Arts. Most notably different in these awards is that
the Bergman Prize, which celebrates leadership, is open to national
and international candidates. The Martha Joseph Citation accounts
for a contribution to the overall "vitality and stature of arts
in northeast Ohio," explains Pontremoli. It is clear that Pontremoli
is ambitious to remedy the way that the Cleveland Arts Prize might
have been prohibitive for young artists in the past, and has the
support of the board and past recipients. But as with all arts endeavors,
financial support will be the key. "The community has to get behind
[this] so that artists can do more than eek by with day jobs that
keep them. from their real work."
Additionally,
jury process and nominating procedures have been completely redesigned.
Jury terms will now cycle more quickly, and membership will be rotating.
The best news of all is that anyone may nominate an artist, and
any artist may be nominated. The speakeasy fashion in which nominees
were chosen is gone. Anyone can visit the website (www. clevelandartsprize.org)
and nominate candidates.
Casting a wider
net appears to be the inauguration of change and growth. As with
every institution, local and otherwise, change is essential. As
Tittle explains, the "brain drain" has been catastrophic to the
local arts community, and that if Cleveland arts are to thrive and
continue, young art¬ists have to have a reason to stay.
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