The Keene Sentinel and Arts Alive are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Ruth and James Ewing Arts Awards. Several nominations were made this year for artists and organizations from the Monadnock region and southeastern Vermont. A jury of celebrated artists, arts educators, and arts administrators has selected 11 winners to be recognized for excellence and their contributions to the arts community this summer.
Named in honor of the late Ruth and James Ewing, the awards continue their legacy of celebrating artistic excellence and those who contribute to the flourishing of arts and culture in their local community and beyond. The Ewings made many contributions to the local arts community through their stewardship of The Keene Sentinel and through personal philanthropy. Both were directors at the artist residency program MacDowell in Peterborough. James founded the New Hampshire Humanities Council and established the James D. Ewing World Affairs Lecture at Keene State College. Ruth was active with the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music and the Grand Monadnock Arts Council. 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the awards and the 225th anniversary of The Keene Sentinel.
The 2024 honorees are:
Painter and wildlife conservationist Matt Patterson, who will be recognized for excellence in 2D Visual Arts for his skill in hyperrealistic painting, which he uses to bring awareness to conservation and humane causes, especially those that benefit turtles, other reptiles, and amphibians.
Costume, fashion, and fiber arts designer and educator Elisabeth Roos, who will receive an award in the 3D Visual Arts category for her diverse artworks exploring portraiture, costume, and women’s rights.
Independent filmmaker, visual artist, writer, and educator Jo Dery, who will be recognized for excellence in Interdisciplinary Arts for her use of and experimentation with various mediums to craft stories rooted in folklore, memoir, and love for the natural world.
Paulee Mekdeci, theater and film-trained drag queen and burlesque artist who uses their performances as Miss Ginger Soulless to explore topics of gender identity and mental health, will be recognized in the Performing Arts category.
Pianist, operatic vocal coach, and music educator Christina Wright-Ivanova, who will be recognized with a Performing Arts award for her artistic excellence, demonstrated by her numerous regional, national and international performances, collaborations, and projects highlighting underrepresented composers and humanitarian initiatives.
The volunteer-run nonprofit Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF), which will receive the Presenter of the Arts award for partnering with numerous local businesses and organizations to present independent films from diverse local and global filmmakers that explore relevant topics such as LGBTQ, BIPOC, and indigenous voices as well as Earth Day and local history.
The following will be recipients in four special award categories:
Independent filmmaker, musician, and recent Keene State College graduate Gavin Key will be recognized with the Student Award for accomplishments of opening a production company, producing locally recognized feature-length and short films, and founding the successful local band Kendall Row and the Jamfest music festival, all before or during college.
Two Lifetime Achievement awards will be presented this year. One goes to Alec Doyle, who served as Executive Director of the Colonial Performing Arts Center for two decades. Under his leadership, the Colonial Theatre Group historic theater conducted a major capital campaign, renovated the historic theater, expanded the arts campus to include the SHOWROOM, and initiated an annual fundraising gala to offer youth programming and to increase access to the arts.
The second Lifetime Achievement award will be presented to widely celebrated and accomplished portrait and landscape artist, author, and educator Richard Whitney, whose artworks hang in over 800 national and international public and private collections.
MAXT Makerspace Executive Director Roy Schlieben will be recognized with the Arts Advocate award. Under his leadership, the multi-disciplinary community workshop has acquired a new and larger facility, an annual Night Market festival for local artists and artisans, the first volunteer-run repair cafe, and opened the Sharing Arts Ceramics Center, filling in the gap left behind by the closing of the region’s beloved Sharon Arts Center.
Brewbakers Cafe is being recognized for Excellence in Community Engagement. Co-owners Jeff and Eliza Murphy maintain the coffee shop as an arts hub through hosting the open arts studio Wakadoodles, the annual Thing in the Spring music festival, permanent and pop-up arts markets, the nonprofit arts initiative NOVA ARTS, of which they are co-founders, and collaborating with local artists and muralists.
The jury this year consisted of Laura Adams, Executive Director of The Jaffrey Civic Center; Petria Mitchell, co-owner of Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts and previous Ewing Award winner; Brinda Charry, academic, celebrated novelist, and previous Ewing Award winner; Cailin Marcel Manson, operatic and concert soloist, conductor, master teacher, and previous Ewing Award winner; Julianne Gadoury, artist, arts administrator with a focus in equitable access to the arts and arts education, and interim executive director of the Colonial Performing Arts Center.
Through the Ewing Arts Awards, The Keene Sentinel and Arts Alive partner to celebrate the diversity, excellence, and community impact of Monadnock region artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters. The mission of this event is to bring hometown recognition to world-class artists and organizations that call this region home.
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
Winners are profiled in a special glossy magazine that is published each summer by the Sentinel and video interviews about their work are published to YouTube. The evening prior to the publication's release, The Keene Sentinel and Arts Alive co-host a reception for the recipients to showcase their work through galleries, readings, and performances and to receive their awards. Details on the Ewing Arts Awards event, to be held July 18th at the Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College, will soon be available, and tickets are expected to go on sale shortly. For more information on the event, visit monadnockartsalive.org/ewing-arts-awards.
