The 2011 Dona Ana Arts Council Arts Awards were held on April 8, 2011 at the Rio Grande Theatre. This year’s theme was “Puttin’ On The Ritz”. Winners and guests channeled the roaring ’20s era by donning the style of the day. Music was provided by The High Society Band. Every year, the Arts Council honors individuals in the community who have given significantly of their time, talents,  and financial contributions to the community. The award recipients this year include:

THE NEWCOMERS AWARD, sponsored by LCPS Superintendent Stan Rounds in mememory of his late wife Debi True Rounds is being given to George and Maggie Griffin. The Griffins moved to Las Cruces after 30 years of successful careers in Washington, D.C. They immediately immersed themselves in the arts and culture of this area. George has worked on many projects including the Renaissance Arts Faire, always with Maggie by his side. Maggie and George joined forces with Glenn and Sally Cutter in co-chairing the first Las Cruces Arts Fair at the new Las Cruces Convention Center, which took place in March this year. George has been deeply involved in the acquisition of the Camunez Building located adjacent to the Rio Grande Theatre.

THE ARTS AND EDUCATION AWARD is sponsored by the C.B. Smith Family. Visual artist and muralist Rene J. Palomares is ths year’s recipient. Rene grew up in Southern New Mexico and has six years experience in arts and education with the Boys and Girls Club and Families & Youth, Inc. The Boys and Girls Club artists received state-wide recognition for their art work related to images of Dr. Martin Luther King, and  for their efforts received a trip to Washington, D.C.  Currently Rene is an AmeriCorps Member artist with Court Youth Center and he teaches a Community and Street Art Class at Alma d’Arte. He is also part of a state-wide after school coalition through the New Mexico after School Alliance and will be the lead artist in a mural project at Cardon Park on Spruce Avenue.  

THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES AWARD, sponsored by Studio D Architects, goes to the Honorable Judge Robert C. Brack for his years of guiding the selections process for art acquisition by the Federal Government Arts Selection Committee. Judge Brack is the only resident district judge in Las Cruces and was involved on a daily basis in overseeing the construction of the new federal courthouse. Not only did he take an abiding interest in the national search for permanent art, but he enlisted the aid of local businessman and Arts Council Board member Ron Saltzman in recruiting local area artists who now proudly hang their works in the courthouse. The result is an amazing array of art in a building noteworthy in and of itself.

THE EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE ARTS AWARD, sponsored by Steve Newby Architects, is being given to Ammu Devasthali. A jewelry artist, Ammu has also been dedicated to community service. She serves as Chair of the Leadership Committee for the Center for the Arts at NMSU and she and her husband have made an extremely generous gift to this new performing arts facility.  Ammu also served on the University Art Gallery Board, has recently completed a term as President of the Community Foundation and is one of the founders of SPRINGBOARD, a women’s fund in the Community Foundation. She is also part of the Las Cruces Arts Fair Committee, with Fair proceeds directly benefitting the Arts Council.

THE COMMUNITY ARTS AWARD , sponsored by N.M. Cardiac Care, is awarded to a business and individual. The individual award goes to Doug Roby. He has been involved in the local theater scene for many year starting with building the set for Diane Schutz’s Las Cruces High School magic show, and continues to support Las Cruces High School performing arts ever since. Doug is also very active with the Las Cruces Community Theatre and has built sets for their many memorable musical productions. He has held several other roles with LCCT including actor, board member and general fix-it person. Doug’s work includes the new entry castle to the Renaissance Arts Faire. The Community Arts Award/Business goes to the Potter’s Guild of Las Cruces. This 30 year old Guild represents ceramic artists from all over Southern New Mexico and West Texas. In 1993, the Potter’s Guild became the first clay group to sponsor Empty Bowls, an international program to feed the hungry. Every October at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church,  participants receive a hand-made bowl donated by area artist and all-you-can-eat soup lunch donated by local restaurants. The last several years, the Guild has raised more than $20,000 for El Caldito, the local soup kitchen. Along with the Las Cruces Museum of Art, the Guild hosts an annual regional juried ceramics exhibition. Other activities include a children’s booth at the Renaissance Faire, a holiday pottery sale and a bi-annual exhibit collaborating between textile and ceramic artists.

THE DR. JOHN GLOWACKI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD is not an annual award, but is given for remarkable achievements in the arts in a lifetime. Dr. Glowacki was the founder of the Dona Ana Arts Council, and he served in the College of Arts and Science, which is most fitting this year, since his friend and colleague, the late Dr. Tom Gale is the recipient of this award. Tom Gale was named first ever emeritus professor by the NMSU Board of Regents after serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for over three decades. He and his wife Mary served on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council, and Mary established the Arts Awards program. Tom was the 1993 Papen Family winner, was the recipient of the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award, served as Vice Chairman of the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education and was a member of the Advisory Board for the NMSU Center for the Arts. His achievements and awards are too numerous to list, but more importantly, he was a much beloved community leader and friend. He died in June, 2010. The Arts Council has memorialized him with a theatre chair in the front row of the Rio Grande Theatre.

THE PAPEN FAMILY AWARD honors an individual who has demonstrated his or her committment to the arts through extraordinary leadership and service. It is sponsored by Cutter Gallery. Dr. Jim Shearer is this year’s winner. He has been an NMSU faculty member for 20 years, teaching tuba, euphonium, music history aand music appreciation to graduate, undergraduate and honors students at New Mexico State University. He was involved in the creation of the NMSU Cultural Series which is designed to allow students and the community access to international touring shows. The cultural series has offered six to ten performances per year in different genres and geographical areas and often finds a home at the Rio Grande Theatre. Jim Shearer was the driving force behind the recent, highly successful JAM SESSION that treated the Las Cruces community to two months of focus on the art and culture of Jazz by partnering films, multimedia exhibits and public gallery talks. It was Jim’s idea, passion, and hard work that made it all come together as a “first of its kind in Las Cruces” project. Jim was awarded the Dennis W.l Darnall Faculty Achievement Award during the 2010 Spring Convocation ceremony. The honor is presented each year to an NMSU faculty member for achievements in teaching, research and for service to the community and the university. Jim embodies all that is great in the arts.

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