Annual awards honor excellence in the arts
The recipients of the sixth Ulster County Executive's Arts Awards were honored during a recent reception.
KINGSTON, N.Y. » For the sixth year, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein has recognized artists and those who have dedicated themselves to the arts.
The recipients of the sixth annual Ulster County Executive’s Arts Awards were honored for their contributions to the arts during a reception last week at the Saugerties Performing Arts Factory.
“Art is part of a rich tradition in Ulster County that embraces and promotes the creativity and the inspiration that artists provide us everyday.” Hein said. He said this year’s honorees “help translate the world around us ... continue the tradition of arts in our great county and foster an appreciation for art in all of its forms.”
Awards were given in nine categories: Arts Organization, Arts in Education, Business Corporation, Individual Artist, Art in Public Places, Artivist, Special Citation, Volunteer, and Student with Exceptional Promise in the Arts.
The recipients, listed below, were chosen based on their contributions to the growth of Ulster County’s cultural life over a signifi-
cant period of time, the support they show of the arts, and/or their vision and leadership in using the arts to enhance community life.
• Arts Organization: Arm of the Sea Theater, an arts ensemble that fuses visual storytelling with live music in contemporary works of mask and puppet theater.
• Arts in Education: Roberta Ziemba, an art teacher in the Onteora school district since 2004. A highlight of her career has been working corroboratively with local artists in her classroom and exhibiting student artwork in local museums, banks, stores and libraries.
• Business Corporation: P&T Surplus, a store that holds a treasure trove of items for artists. Owner Tim Smythe Sr. helps anyone and everyone coming through the doors find items for which they are hunting.
• Individual Artist: Donald Elder, an artist who draws inspiration from the Hudson Valley, the Catskill Mountains and his garden. Elder’s work is shown nationally and internationally.
• Art in Public Places: Trina Greene, who was commissioned to sculpt the 11-year-old slave Isabella, which is the focal point of the Sojourner Truth Park in Port Ewen. Her most recent sculpture, “Aging Woman,” a life-size bronze statute that will serve as a monument to mark the over 2,300 paupers in unmarked graves from the Ulster County Poorhouse, will be unveiled the fall.
•Artivist: Michael Asbill, who has woven arts advocacy, community engagement, education, and curatorial endeavor into his installation and public art practice.
• Volunteer: Jim McIntyre, for his dedication to the Shadownland Theater in Ellenville and its reconstruction
• Student with Exceptional Promise in the Arts: Lucie Parker, a 15-yearold dancer, choreographer and actor from Kingston. A dancer since age 4, Parker hopes to attend a conservatory for dance and join a modern dance company.
• Special citations: Anthony Cacchio, Jr. (Uncle Tony), for his lifelong involvement with the Rosendale Theater; and Stacey Jarit (posthumously), a painter who was deeply involved in the arts in Ulster County for over 30 years.