NHBCA Announces the Winners Of The 39th Annual Arts Awards
May 8—McLane Middleton law firm, Savings Bank of Walpole and Summit Supply were among the winners recognized for their support of the arts Monday at the 39th Annual Arts Awards Gala hosted by the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts.
More than 300 people attended the event at the DoubleTree by Hilton, which featured art exhibits, live music and dance performances.
The companies were honored for supporting arts and culture through donations of time, funds and resources such as cross-promotions to benefit their communities, individual artists and arts organizations in and around New Hampshire.
"All of them are deeply committed to supporting the arts because they believe in art's ability to positively impact our communities and transform lives — sometimes in very unexpected ways," said Tricia Soule, NHBCA executive director, in a newss release.
McLane Middleton was honored with the Boundless Generosity Award for its commitment to volunteerism and overarching philosophy that their attorneys should be active participants in their communities. The firm supports the Capitol Center for the Arts, the Palace Theatre, Opera North and the Manchester Community Music School, among many others.
Savings Bank of Walpole received the Dyed-in-the-Wool Award for supporting nearly two dozen performing, visual and youth arts organizations in the Monadnock region for more than five consecutive years. By investing in the artistic life of its region at a level comparable or higher than businesses twice their size, the bank was lauded for embodying "what it means to be a community bank."
The Fanfare Award was presented to Summit Supply for creatively promoting the Music Hall on the company's fleet of service trucks with custom wraps that advertise the theater. With multiple trucks traveling through Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, Summit Supply provides the Music Hall with an innovative and far-reaching marketing campaign without the exorbitant cost.
Derek Lucci of Amherst won the Bayberry Financial Services Artrepreneur Award for his founding of Open Sky, a skills-based acting program for incarcerated men in the New Hampshire State Prison system. The actor, director, writer and educator's organization has reached over 650 incarcerated residents who either participated in or attended one of 11 performances (followed by audience discussion) of the Sam Shepard play "True West."
The Northeast Delta Dental Artsbuild Community Award was presented to Kimball Jenkins for partnering with My Turn to help reduce barriers of access to arts experiences for young people while helping to connect with creative placemaking through art and centering traditionally underrepresented voices. The partnership resulted in a public mural in Concord, designed and executed by a group of teenagers who received mentoring and feedback from artistic, business and civic leaders.
Winners were awarded a fused glass sculpture created specifically for the event by Manchester-based artist Verne Orlosk. Each award was accompanied by a certificate made by calligraphy artist Adele Sanborn.
