Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl has named Evanston Art Center and puppeteer Marilyn Price as the 2015 recipients of the “Mayor’s Award for the Arts.” Every year, the Mayor presents the award to an Evanston arts organization and an individual for contributions to the community through art. Recipients were selected from nominations submitted by the public.
The awards will be presented at the annual “A Bright Night for the Arts” event on Nov. 5 at the Rotary International Building, 1560 Sherman Ave. Festivities begin at 6 p.m.
Evanston Art Center was selected because it is inspired by the belief that the arts are an integral part of vibrant communities, providing exceptional outlets for creative expression and innovative ideas. While maintaining the visual arts as its core offering, the relocation last summer to 1717 Central St. from the Harley Clarke mansion allows the reimagined Art Center to host expanded, cross-disciplinary programming in new areas. There will be classes of culinary arts, design, digital and 3D arts, film, music, movement and performance, as well as further opportunities to engage with community partners. The newly renovated, open gallery spaces have the capacity for innovative installations to help showcase all mediums of artwork and provide space for future exhibitions, events, and programming.
Honorable mentions in the organization category include Evanston Children’s Choir, Mudlark Theater, Evanston Symphony Orchestra, Creative Coworking and Northshore Concert Band.
Marilyn Price is a nationally known puppeteer, storyteller and educator who has been telling and teaching for over 30 years. She performs a wide variety of programs for all sorts of audiences, and specializes in imagination stretching and stories that teach. Her uniquely handcrafted characters convey an enthusiasm for the spirit of her stories to all of her audiences, the young and the “less young.”
Ms. Price has taught and performed to children, educators, librarians, parents, clergy, and professional puppeteers and storytellers. Ms. Price and her puppets have traveled to every corner of the United States using original scripts and stories fitted to her characters and style.
She has been the author of a bi-monthly feature on puppetry for Shofar magazine, a series of articles on Jewish home life for the Reconstructionist magazine, and in 1996 released a book, “Puppets,” in English and Spanish for Celebration Press that featured her puppet creations. One of her original tales, “Grandma’s Challah,” can be found in “Chosen Tales: Stories Told by Jewish Storytellers.”
Honorable mentions in the individual category include Jevoid Simmons, Alfonso “Piloto” Nieves Ruiz, Sheila Oettinger and Dominic Daniels.
Tickets to “A Bright Night for the Arts” are available for purchase at abrightnightforthearts2.splashthat.com.