2021 APAP Award Nominees Announced

The Association of Performing Arts Professionals announced the nominees for its APAP Awards. APAP will recognize the nominees and announce the final award recipients at The APAP Honors, as well as celebrate the recipients of the Annual NAPAMA Awards and Halsey & Alice North Award for APAP Board Alumni.

The APAP Honors, a virtual ceremony, will take place on Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. (EDT). The event is free and open-to-the-public. Charitable contributions to support much-needed APAP programs and resources are welcome.

To RSVP for The APAP Honors, visit here. To make a donation to APAP, visit here.

APAP President and CEO Lisa Richards Toney explains the significance of hosting an awards celebration in 2021. "APAP's work has always been to lift up the field. When much of the performing arts has been devastated, APAP is working hard to support the field during the crisis and through the recovery."

"Visibility is extremely important for the field and for arts professionals at this time," Richards Toney continues. "At APAP, we are working to preserve jobs, preserve livelihoods, and preserve the ecosystem that is integral to the cultural and economic fabric of our society. That work is a combination of advocating for federal support, delivering programs and services to build the field back better, and providing membership relief so our people can weather this storm. APAP wants to be here for those hardest hit by the effects of the pandemic, and we take seriously our role to help carry the field forward."

"We are thrilled to have our Works & Process programming recognized by APAP," shared nominee Caroline Cronson, producer of Works & Process at the Guggenheim. "This year, we've introduced several new initiatives including virtual commissions, bubble residencies, a docuseries, and are proud to have reopened live indoor performances in our efforts to continue to support artists and bring the arts to the greater community, and we're excited to continue and expand these programs," said nominee Duke Dang, general manager of Works & Process at the Guggenheim.

For decades, the coveted awards have been presented annually as part of the APAP Awards Ceremony, traditionally held at the annual APAP|NYC conference. In 2021, the Awards event---renamed The APAP Honors---is being held virtually on May 6. The APAP Awards celebrate those individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a significant impact on the industry and communities they serve both in the U.S. and abroad.

Richards Toney invites all to attend the event in celebration of the many diverse arts professionals and organizations who are part of the ecosystem that is APAP's very mission to support.

"As we continue to work to ensure that the performing arts is able to return stronger than ever, we also welcome charitable contributions to APAP, so that we are able to deliver on the services and resources our members have come to rely upon. As a membership organization, our lifeblood is our members and the crisis of the pandemic has shown us that, now, more than ever, our members need us. And, simply put, we are committed to serving them. Support to APAP is deeply appreciated as it helps us to continue helping the field now and into the future."

The APAP Honors is sponsored by IMG Artists (https://imgartists.com/). Learn more about APAP event sponsorship here: https://www.apap365.org/About/Advertising-and-Sponsorship.

Fifty-three performing arts professionals and organizations were nominated by APAP members for the following awards and represent the breadth and depth of the performing arts presenting, booking and touring field at this moment. "For the first time ever, given so much great work and the important chance to lift up and celebrate the magnanimity of the performing arts field, we are celebrating all of our nominees and featuring as many as possible during the awards program itself," explains Richards Toney.

Final award recipients will be announced at The APAP Honors on May 6.

THE AWARD OF MERIT FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

• Ronald K. Brown, Choreographer/Artistic Director, EVIDENCE, a Dance Company
• Rhodnie Désir, Artistic Director/Artist/Choreographer, RD Creations
• Christine Dixon, artist
• Raja Feather Kelly, Founding Artistic Director, the feath3r theory
• Zakir Hussain, tabla player, composer, percussionist, producer, actor
• Yo-Yo Ma, cellist, musician, founder, Silk Road Ensemble
• Christian McBride, bassist, composer, arranger
• Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center
• Deborah Nagy, Founder and Director, Les Délices
• Moses Pendleton, choreographer, dancer and the artistic director of MOMIX
• Toshi Reagon, musician, composer, curator and producer

THE SIDNEY R. YATES AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF THE PERFORMING ARTS

• Gail Boyd, President, Gail Boyd Artist Management
• Matthew Covey, Executive Director, Tamizdat
• Creating New Futures: Working Guidelines for Ethics & Equity in Presenting Dance & Performance
• María López De León, President and CEO, National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC)
• Nikki Estes, Director, Presenting & Touring, South Arts
• Florida Professional Presenters Consortium, Inc.
• Dayna Frank, President/Co-Founder, NIVA
• Meena Malik, musician, arts consultant, and cultural organizer; Program Manager of Theater, NEFA; API Arts Network of Boston
• Mixedearners.org, Kevin Erickson and Sarah Al Howes, Esquire
• Rev. Moose Marauder, Executive Director/Co-Founder, NIVA
• The Performing Arts Managers & Agents Coalition (PAMAC) Charlotte Lee, Founder
• Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, Executive Director, TYA/USA
• Zeyba Rahman, Senior Program Officer for the Building Bridges Program (DDFIA), Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
• United States Artists, Deana Haggag, President & CEO
• We See You White American Theater

THE William Dawson AWARD FOR PROGRAMMATIC EXCELLENCE AND SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT IN PROGRAMMING

• Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Jean-Philippe Malaty, Executive Director, and Tom Mossbrucker, Artistic Director
• Barrington Stage Company, Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director
• W. Lee Bell, Senior Director of Programming, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
• Celebrity Series of Boston, Amy Lam, Artistic Programmer
• Charleston Gaillard Center, Therese Spaseff, Director of Entertainment and Programming
• Zenetta S. Drew, Executive Director, Dallas Black Dance Theatre
• Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Kathy Ramsberger, President & CEO
• Brooke Horejsi, Assistant Dean for Art & Creative Engagement, Executive Director of UtahPresents
• Kodi Hutchinson, Artistic Producer, JazzYYC
• Lied Center for the Performing Arts, Bill Stephan, Executive Director & Chief Artistic Officer
• William Lockwood, Special Programming Director, McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton University
• Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center
• Kristina Newman-Scott, President, BRIC Arts Media
• The Public Theater, Shanta Thake, Associate Artistic Director/ Director of Artistic Programs
• Steven Schmidt, General Manager, Riverside Concerts/City of Rochester (MN) Civic Music Department
• Kathy Schuman, Vice President & Artistic Director, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
• Roberta Uno, Director, Arts in a Changing America
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Caroline Cronson, Producer and Duke Dang, General Manager

THE FAN TAYLOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL PRESENTING

• Andre Bouchard, Principal and Founder, Indigenous Performance Productions, a nonprofit company
• Mario Garcia Durham, arts administrator, educator
• María López De León, President and CEO, National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC)
• Deana Haggag, President & CEO, United States Artists
• Steve Lerian, Director, Cal Poly Arts
• Charles Miller, Program Consultant, Mayo Performing Arts Center
• Norton Owen, Director of Preservation, Jacob's Pillow
• Diane Rodriguez, Director, Rodriguez Projects (posthumously)
• Vera Wilson, Founder, Astral Artists, Inc.

APAP has also announced Olga Garay-English as the 2021 recipient of the Halsey & Alice North Board Alumni Award. Garay-English is currently an independent arts consultant and is Senior Advisor for International Affairs to Fundación Teatro a Mil. The Halsey & Alice North Board Alumni Award is presented to an APAP Board Alum who "has demonstrated in their words and actions the beautiful spirit of generosity and giving, not only on a continuing basis to Association of Performing Arts Professionals, but to the field at large".

In January, NAPAMA announced winners of its 2021 awards; Kevin Spencer, Self-Represented Artist, Educator and Advocate, Hocus Focus, Inc. will receive the Liz Silverstein Award for Agent-Manager of the Year, and Hollis Ashby, Artistic and Executive Director, Williams Center for the Arts will receive the NAPAMA Award for Presenter of the Year.

For more information about The APAP Honors and APAP Awards, including past award recipients, visit https://www.apap365.org/Programs/APAP-Honors-2021.