The Vermont Arts Council is pleased to announce two outstanding contributors to Vermont’s cultural community will be honored with the Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts: Arnie Malina and Altoon Sultan. Both recipients will be honored in a ceremony on June 5, 2012 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, VT.
The Walter Cerf Medal is presented to individuals who have made a sustained contribution to the arts and have had an impact on Vermont's cultural life. The medal is named in honor of the late philanthropist Walter Cerf whose generous gifts, exceeding $5 million, have benefited numerous Vermont institutions including the Arts Council. Mr. Cerf was instrumental in establishing the Arts Endowment at the Vermont Community Foundation, a $1 million fund that assists Vermont's artists and arts organizations.
Arnie Malina has been the Chief Programming Officer/ Artistic Director at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, where he guided the institution in its programming on the Mainstage and black box, FlynnSpace and where he also was Artistic Director of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Prior to the Flynn, Malina founded and developed nationally significant programs at Helena Presents in Montana. He is the recipient of the Fan Taylor Award for distinguished service from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and was profiled as "Montana's Unsung Hero" in Newsweek Magazine.
Altoon Sultan has been exhibiting her work for over 40 years in venues that range from a coop gallery in Soho to the San Francisco Museum of Art. Her awards include two National Endowment for the Arts grants, an Academy Award in Art from the American Academy, and a medal for painting from the National Academy of Design, where she was elected a member in 1995. Her work is in museum collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Library of Congress; and the Fleming Museum of the University of Vermont. Recent additions to Sultan's body of work are abstractly designed wall textiles using the traditional technique of rug hooking.
This year's annual meeting will also include a "grantee showcase" featuring Lida Winfield, an accomplished dancer, choreographer and spoken word artist whose who has performed nationally and internationally.
Among other official business at the Annual Meeting, the Council’s membership will be asked to elect trustees and approve bylaw changes. Council Members have been mailed ballots, and can also vote in person at the Annual Meeting; voting begins at 3 pm in the House Chamber Lobby. Current trustees James Clubb, Gerianne Smart and Steve Swayne are up for reelection, and Mark Burke, Jason Lorber and Edie Sawitsky are on the ballot for the first time.
This event is free and open to the public. More information, including an RSVP form are available online at www.vermontartscouncil.org
Since 1964, the Vermont Arts Council has been the state’s primary provider of funding, advocacy and information for the arts in Vermont. It strives to increase public awareness of the positive role artists and arts organizations play in communities and to increase opportunities for Vermonters to experience the arts in everyday life. The Council is the only designated State Arts Agency in the U.S. that is also an independent, not-for-profit, membership organization. For more information on the programs and services of the Vermont Arts Council, visit www.vermontartscouncil.org.
