A jury for the Ruth and James Ewing Arts Awards, a partnership between Arts Alive and The Keene Sentinel, has selected 12 winners to be recognized for excellence and their contributions to the arts community at the July 20th reception and celebration.
Some 70 nominations were made this year for artists and organizations from the Monadnock Region and southeastern Vermont.
The winners for 2023 are:
Marisol Zilske, Student Winner
Songwriter, musician, and recent high school graduate Marisol Zilske of Keene will receive the Student Award.
Arts Educator and Music Director Kathryn Butterfield of Richmond and Music on Norway Pond, a performing arts organization located in Hancock, are being recognized in the category of Performing Arts.
Susan Osgood at an installation of her work.
Artists Melody Squires and Susan Osgood, both of Brattleboro, are being recognized for their excellence and leadership in visual arts.
Howard Mansfield and Sy Montgomery of Hancock will receive awards in the Literary Arts category.
Teacher, theater artist and puppet maker Céline Perron, of Keene, will receive an award in Interdisciplinary Arts.
A variety of the work Epsilon Spires presents
Epsilon Spires of Brattleboro, is being recognized as an excellent Presenter of the Arts for the curation of interdisciplinary, performing, and visual art that expand into new genres and practices and stretch what traditional audiences enjoy.
Voice and piano teacher and professional vocalist Stacie Pirozzi of Fitzwilliam and film teacher and enthusiast Thomas Cook will receive awards in the Community Engagement category for the ways they both have seeded and nurtured a love and appreciation for the arts to so many.
And the award in Lifetime Achievement this year will go to pianist, conductor, and educator, and Playing for Peace founder Eric Stumacher of Swanzey.
Eric Stumacher at the piano
The jury this year consisted of Jessica Gelter, executive director of Arts Alive; Javier Caballero, director, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, a previous winning organization; Brinda Charry, author and previous winner; Rosemarie Bernardi, visual artist and previous winner; and Lisa Sieverts, board member of Monadnock Folklore Society, a previous winning organization.
Through the Ewing Arts Awards, the Keene Sentinel and Arts Alive partner to celebrate the diversity, excellence, and impact of arts in the Monadnock region. The mission of this event is to bring hometown recognition to world-class artists and organizations that call the Monadnock region home. Ruth and James Ewing Arts Awardees are creating and presenting art of excellence and contributing to the field of arts and culture in their local community and beyond.
Each year that goes by, my appreciation and wonder grows for the rich arts community here in the Monadnock Region. Our culture is one that is steeped in art — traditional styles to boundary-pushing work, from old masters to emerging dreamers. I love that we can bring attention to these artists and organizations and celebrate this part of our region’s identity. - Jessica Gelter, Arts Alive
These awards recognize excellence in the creative community, and to acknowledge how these artists give back to their communities and their professions through their work. Winners are profiled in a special glossy magazine that is published each summer and video interviews about their work are published to YouTube.
The evening prior to the publication's release, Arts Alive and The Keene Sentinel will co-host a reception for the recipients to showcase their work and receive their awards. Details on the Ewing Arts Awards event, to be held July 20 in the Mabel Brown Room at Keene State College, will soon be available, and tickets are expected to go on sale shortly.