press room

For Immediate Release

05/18/2005

Contact:
Beth Olsen
212.576.2700


Encore Awards Celebrate 40 Year Milestone Honoring Arts and Business Partnerships

New York—May 18, 2005. Today the Arts & Business Council of New York, a division of Americans for the Arts, announced the recipients of the 40th Encore Awards. The awards recognize successful collaborative projects between nonprofit arts organizations and businesses in New York City, as well as excellence in arts management and outstanding business voluntarism. They will be presented on Tuesday, June 21, 2005, at 11:30 am at Bridgewaters at the South Street Seaport. It is the premier event in New York for bringing together the full array of arts leaders from all disciplines and neighborhoods, along with corporate, philanthropic, and civic leaders. 

The 40th Encore Award winners are as follows:

Arts & Business Partnership Awards

• Over $2 Million—Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) and Morgan Stanley
  Morgan Stanley’s National Sponsorship of AAADT, the flagship of its Diversity Sponsorships Program, has enabled AAADT to provide inspiring performances and innovative educational programs throughout the country. Through its Diversity Sponsorships Program, Morgan Stanley supports initiatives that celebrate accomplishments; champion aspirations; and promote awareness of women, minorities, and other diverse groups while inspiring younger generations to view the world as boundless.
• Under $2 Million—Repertorio Español and MetLife Foundation
  In 1999, MetLife Foundation and Repertorio Español launched The Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition. This initiative grew from a mutual goal of identifying the next generation of theater artists working in the Spanish language and promoting and developing work that is of importance to the Hispanic community. MetLife Foundation’s support of this program has allowed Repertorio to offer new and emerging Hispanic artists opportunities that are not available at other theaters. 
• Honorable Mention—Community Works and Citigroup
  The Citigroup Foundation, Citibank, a member of Citigroup, and Community Works have formed a major partnership around the landmark Harlem Is... public art project to honor Harlem heroes and celebrate the community’s rich living history and culture. Major funding support from the Citigroup Foundation has enabled Community Works to create this multilayered traveling exhibition and conduct in-school and after-school workshop programs, public events and performances, youth performing arts series, symposia, readings, and guided tours to serve more than 150,000 students and community members at sites and locations throughout New York City.

Arts Management Excellence Award

• Karen Brooks Hopkins is the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), where she has worked since 1979. As president, Hopkins oversees the Academy’s 300 full- and part-time employees and facilities, including the 2,000-seat Howard Gilman Opera House and 900-seat BAM Harvey Theater, the four-theater BAM Rose Cinemas, and the BAM café. 
• Elliot Figman is a poet and the executive director of Poets & Writers. His most recent book, Big Spring, was published by Four Way Books. Figman earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Massachusetts in 1972 and taught high school English in Huntington, MA, from 1972 to 1975. He began work as a volunteer at Poets & Writers in 1977, and became the executive director in 1981.

Business Volunteer of the Year Award

• Eric Krebs, volunteer, Amas Musical Theatre. Krebs is the principal of Eric Krebs Theatrical Management, Inc., a multifaceted theatrical management, producing, and touring organization. He is the founder of the Off-Broadway John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks Theaters. He was co-producer of Neil Simon’s The Dinner Party; It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues (nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical); and Electra, starring Zoë Wanamaker (nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Revival).
• Todd Gibson, volunteer, Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center and New York Foundation for the Arts. Gibson is a director at Princeton Consultants, Inc. He is a frequent contributor to pharmacy benefits industry trade publications and a frequent speaker at industry conferences. He performs ongoing volunteer work as a docent for the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Encore honorees are chosen by an independent jury consisting of leaders representing the business and arts sectors, from nominations submitted by the field.

The Encore Awards are sponsored by Commerce Bank, McGraw-Hill, Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc., WABC 7, and Crain’s New York Business.

The Arts & Business Council of New York, a division of Americans for the Arts, stimulates partnerships between business and the arts that strengthen the New York community. A strong, vital arts community is essential to a healthy business climate, and arts organizations must be well managed to accomplish their artistic goals. Business can offer the arts more than financial resources by sharing management skills. Forging these mutually beneficial relationships in New York is critical to our long-term vitality and growth.