Mayor's State of City Address and Award for the Arts
On Friday, March 2, 2012 Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl gave her third annual State of the City Address at the Hilton Orrington Evanston and presented the Mayor's Award for the Arts to two individuals, one organization and one local business. The Mayor highlighted many of the successes and challenges that the city has undergone over the past year along with highlighting some of her goals for the following year.
"Evanston made great strides in 2011 as we focused on increasing economic activity, bringing greater opportunity and activities to our youth, and keeping Evanston residents safe and healthy, all while managing our finances responsibly. My thanks to the members of the City Council, City staff and our residents for working together to make all of these accomplishments possible," said Evanston Mayor Elizabeth B. Tisdahl.
Mayor's 2012 State of the City speech >>>
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Mayor's Award for the Arts
The Mayor’s Award for the Arts is presented annually to an Evanston arts organization and an individual for contributions to the community through excellence in the arts. Recipients are selected from nominations submitted by the public.
Young Evanston Artists (YEA!) received the arts organization award and this year two people were selected to win the individual award: Dr. Stamata Blanas and Jill Brazel. The awards were presented at the Annual State of the City Address sponsored by the Evanston Chamber of Commerce and NorthShore University HealthSystem.
Young Evanston Artists (YEA!) is a nonprofit volunteer-driven organization that gives Evanston children an opportunity to display their artwork, sing, play instruments and perform in the Dempster/Chicago shopping district each spring. YEA! was founded by Harvey Pranian, who will accept the award.
Dr. Stamata Blanas is the founder and chairperson of the Faces of Evanston, an annual photography and video contest. She has been the driving force behind the Faces of Evanston for the last seven years. Blanas also is a past president of the Kiwanis Club of Evanston, which supports the Faces of Evanston. Submitted photographs are displayed in a traveling exhibition throughout Evanston and also are available online and through social media.
Jill Brazel served on the Evanston Arts Council for six years and served as chair of the council for three years. During her tenure, she established Art Under Glass, the displays of artwork placed in vacant Evanston storefronts to brighten up the streetscape. A professional photographer, she often volunteers to cover events or create graphics for local nonprofit organizations.
Arts & Business Leadership Award
Hecky’s Barbecue has been chosen as the 2011 recipient of the Evanston Arts & Business Committee Leadership Award. The annual award acknowledges Evanston businesses and organizations that have provided leadership in arts and cultural support, either financially or through in-kind services, or both.
The Arts & Business Committee, a subcommittee of the Evanston Arts Council, encourages businesses of all sizes to support the arts in whatever way they can. “We are excited to have several strong nominations and are proud to be recognizing Hecky’s Barbecue this year,” said Lara Allison, co-chair of the Arts & Business Committee. Hecky’s has provided support to several Evanston arts-related events and organizations, including Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, The Actors Gymnasium, Evanston Township High School Jazz Band, and Youth and Senior Theatre Ensemble Project (YSTEP).
Tim Rhoze, artistic director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre and member of the Arts & Business Committee, has witnessed first-hand the many generous meals that Hecky’s has provided for student-related arts events. Hecky Powell, owner of Hecky’s Barbecue, was honored to be receiving the award, and said that the reason that he supports the arts in Evanston is “because they don’t always get the funding they need” and “it is just the right thing to do.”
Previous recipients of the award include Whole Foods Market, First Bank & Trust, Romano Bros. and Co., and Jim Nash of Farnsworth-Hill, Inc. The award itself is being crafted by Evanston metalsmith and jewelry artist Nancy Sickbert-Wheeler, who also provided the design for last year’s award.
The Arts & Business Committee created the Leadership Award five years ago. It reinforces the committee’s primary mission of bringing together local business leaders and arts organizations into a mutually enhancing relationship. This award recognizes the business leaders for their support of the arts, but as most business leaders know, a community with a thriving cultural scene is good business. The committee is currently co-chaired by Paul Giddings and Lara Allison.