39th Annual Governor's Arts Awards Goes Virtual for 2020

The 2020 Governor's Arts Awards, postponed last spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be broadcast virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 28 on the Arizona Citizens for the Arts Facebook page (@ArizonaCitizensfortheArts, www.facebook.com/ArizonaCitizensfortheArts).

Presented by Billie Jo & Judd Herberger, winners will be announced in four categories: Artists, Administrator/Organization, Business and Philanthropy. Thirty-seven finalists from 16 Arizona communities were announced in March.

Shelley Award winners this year are Catherine "Rusty" Foley, former Arizona Citizens for the Arts Executive Director, and Bob Booker, former executive director at the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Foley and Booker will be recognized during the event.

The 90-minute broadcast, hosted by AzCA Executive Director Joseph Benesh, begins at 6 p.m. and will include the announcement of 2020 honorees, a silent auction and a musical performance. There is no cost to view the ceremony, but donations will be accepted. Registration (https://aesaz.co/ELP/GAA2020/) isrequired to participate in the online silent auction. The same link can be used to view the silent auction items beginning the week before the event.

"Even though we can't be together physically, we're looking forward to honoring these tremendous arts leaders and advocates," Benesh said. "We are planning a big celebration when it's OK to do so."

Event sponsors include Herberger Foundation, APS, SRP, Judith Hardes, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale Arts, Mesa Arts Center, Chandler Center for the Arts, Theater Works, Chuck and Laurie Goldstein, Jeffrey and Leslie Rich and Mike and Enid Seiden.

Additional sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Program Manager Sarah Cirelli at SarahCirelli@azcitizensforthearts.org

Award finalists are:

Artist Award: Jose Dorame, Yuma; Lucy Wong, Gilbert; Such & Champ Styles, Tempe; Victor Navarro, Tucson; Quiahuitl Villegas, Tucson; Bobb Cooper, Phoenix; Tania Katan, Phoenix; Chris Hamby, Peoria; Arlene Minushkin, Prescott; Rhonda Urdang, Flagstaff; John Suttman, Winslow.

Arts Administrator/Organization: Yuma Art Center, Yuma; Border Arts Corridor, Douglas; Littlewood Fine Art and Community Co-op, Yuma; Andre Licardi, The Peoria Arts Commission, Glendale; Lead Guitar, Tucson; Sonoran Glass School, Tucson; Rising Youth Theatre, Phoenix; Scottsdale Arts, Scottsdale; Sounds Academy, Phoenix; Phoenix Center for the Arts, Phoenix; Yuma Orchestra Association; Sonoran Arts League, Cave Creek; Prescott Center for the Arts, Prescott; Yavapai-Apache Artist Guild, Yavapai-Apache Nation; Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Flagstaff; Flagstaff Community Band, Flagstaff.

Business: Rolls and Bowls, San Luis; Jarrod's Coffee, Tea & Gallery, Mesa;

Partridge & Associates CPAs, PLC, Scottsdale; ON Media, Phoenix/Tucson.

Philanthropy: Chuck and Laurie Goldstein, Paradise Valley; McKivergan Foundation, Yuma; Victor Navarro, Tucson; Jon & Liney Jessen, Yuma; Allan Affeldt, Winslow; Dorothy Lincoln Smith, Paradise Valley.

The Governor's Arts Awards are presented by Arizona Citizens for the Arts in partnership with the Office of the Governor. Since 1981, more than 200 distinguished artists, individuals, cultural organizations, educators, businesses and philanthropists have received Governor's Arts Awards. For more information, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org.

For more information, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org.