Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards
The Place: Dec. 4 at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Downtown.
It was an all-star line up celebrating the Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards, which recognizes distinguished Pittsburgh artists. This year’s honorees, Susan Tsu (Established Artist Award) and Sarika Goulatia (Emerging Artist Award), felt that this night was more necessary than ever. “This was presented to me at quite a critical juncture of my life. A time when my morale was at an all-time low. I had started questioning my ideology. As artists we are rarely compensated for showing our work. I was investing so much of myself — emotionally, physically, mentally and financially in my work, which I believe is my reason of existence. There are so many times I have questioned — is this worth it? Where am I going with it? What is my goal? Why do I do what I do? And whenever I doubt myself, I go back to my mantra. It’s a Sanskrit verse that always helps, ground me back, and answers the unanswered questions in me: “
In simple English the verse says, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty,” said Ms. Goulatia. “In other words, I have a right to the work, but not to the fruit. There has to be a higher purpose in what we do.”
#TheFutureIsFemale: After introductions by Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Tony Norman, a panel discussion moderated by the executive director of Silver Eye Center for Photography David Oresick and featuring photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier, artist Sandra Gould Ford and playwright Lynn Nottage, took center stage. “This is a special, unique moment to have three black women talk about their concerns, collaborations, and compassion with the working class. This is a pivotal moment both socially and politically,” said Ms. Frazier. Added Mr. Norman: “This event is a reminder that Pittsburgh has been home to top-notch artists for decades. Pittsburgh is rising, not just in rent and real estate, but in community.”
#SEEN: CEO and president of the August Wilson Center, Janis Burley Wilson, Richard Parsakian, Bill Wade, Scott Roller, Shaunda Miles, Tereneh Idia, Yona Harvey, and Karla Boos.