by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Excellence in arts and philanthropy recognized by Cultural Council
Once each year, the North Florida arts community meets for lunch and to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of its members. That gathering brought more than 450 artists, educators, advocates and supporters to the stage of the Moran Theater at the Times-Union Center Tuesday for the 34th Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Arts Awards Luncheon sponsored by Regions Bank.
This year’s keynote address was delivered by Rob Gibson, executive and artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival. Before his arrival in Savannah, Gibson was Founding Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City and served on the faculty of The Julliard School.
Gibson, who grew up in Atlanta, recalled his Southern roots as he explained how he came to direct one of America’s most recognized music festivals.
“I grew up in Atlanta and I remember the day my fourth-grade class got on a school bus to go hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,” said Gibson. After the field trip arrived at the concert hall, he said, “I was about to make my program into a paper airplane when the conductor raised his baton and the orchestra began to play the ‘William Tell Overture.’ I was wondering where the Lone Ranger was and then everything changed for me that day.”
Gibson said the Savannah Music Festival attracts an audience from 48 states and many international countries and has become a major contributor to Savannah’s economy. On average, visiting festival-goers each spend $418 over the course of four days.
Gibson also said he has been spending time in Atlanta lately lobbying for the preservation of the arts.
“We have a $17.8 billion state budget that has eliminated the Georgia Council for the Arts,” said Gibson, who added that if the budget is adopted as it’s currently written, “Georgia will become the only state in America without an arts organization.”
Betsy Lovett received the Individual Arts Hall of Fame Award in recognition of her years of service and contributions to the local arts community. As chair of the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation, Lovett helped raise more than $800,000 for books, adult literacy programs and community events. She served for more than 14 years on the board of trustees of The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and was the first woman to chair that board. Lovett has also actively supported the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and made the lead gift for the Betsy Lovett Arts Center at The Bolles School’s Bartram Campus.
Lovett is only the second Hall of Fame inductee, joining Nellie Lynch, who guided the art program for Duval County Public Schools and was inducted more than 20 years ago.
The 2010 Individual Arts Award was presented to Delores Barr Weaver in recognition of her commitment to sustaining arts organizations through organizational leadership, program funding and the establishment of endowments. Organizations that have received lead endowment gifts include WJCT Public Broadcasting, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus. Weaver also extended program funding to Cathedral Arts Project, the Florida Ballet and Stage Aurora.
Moises Ramos was named this year’s Arts Educator for his work in the public schools and the community. An art teacher at Arlington Heights Elementary School, he has been the lead art instructor for Lutheran Social Services’ summer program for refugee children. He also served children being treated at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House by donating art project materials and is the lead art instructor at Cathedral Arts Project.
This year’s Corporate Award was presented to The Dalton Agency and accepted by agency President and CEO Jim Dalton. The advertising and public relations firm provides pro bono marketing support to arts organizations, including the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Arc Jacksonville’s A.R.T. program, which provides a creative outlet and income opportunity for adults with disabilities. The Dalton Agency also has provided professional support for the Otis Smith Foundation’s Sea Cows for Kids and the Child Guidance Center’s Turtle Trails public art projects and the Cultural Council’s on-line calendar, www.experiencejax.com.
A Special Recognition Award was presented to the Riverside Arts Market and accepted by one of its founders, Dr. Wayne Wood. The weekly arts, entertainment and fresh food market was attended by more than 500,000 people in its first year of operation under the canopy of the Fuller Warren Bridge in Riverside. Since the venue’s debut last year, more than 700 artists have exhibited and more than 400 performers have entertained at the market.
Each honoree received an original piece of art by Jacksonville artist Allison Watson.
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