Announcing the winners of the 13th Annual Viola Awards
Announcing the winners of the 13th Annual Viola Awards
Creative Flagstaff is happy to announce the winners of the 13th Annual Viola Awards. This year’s winners included:
- Excellence in Storytelling awarded to Cathy A. Small, Jason Kordosky, & Ross Moore for their book The Man in the Dog Park: Coming Up Close to Homelessness
- Excellence in STEAM awarded to the Parched Steering Committee for the exhibition, documentary, and related programming of Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest
- The Emerging Artist award was given to drag and performance artist Revelucien
- Excellence in Music was awarded to the band Tow’rs for their holiday album, The Holly & the Ivy
- Excellence in Education was awarded to Coconino Community College Science biology faculty member Melinda McKinney
- Excellence in Visual Arts was awarded to curator Julie Comnick and the artists of Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest
- Nick Gieb was awarded with the Community Impact Individual award
- The Community Impact Organization award was given to the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival
- Excellence in Performing Arts was awarded to the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra for The Nutcracker.
Dr. Edith Copley and Dr. Nat White were both honored with a Legacy Award for their huge contributions to art, science, and community in Flagstaff.
Dr. Edith Copley taught at the NAU School for Music for 31 years. Throughout her accomplished career in the arts, her passion has been music education, and stated in her interview video that she hopes her legacy lives in her students, especially those students who went on to become music educators themselves.
Dr. Nat White has been an active member of the Flagstaff community for more than 50 years. Nat was an astronomer at Lowell Observatory for 38 years and led huge efforts in instrumentation. Outside his work as an astronomer, Nat previously served on the City Council and currently serves on the Board of Coconino Community College, and plays trombone in the Flagstaff Community Band.
The 13th Annual Viola Awards was a Viola Awards like no other, changes to the traditionally ballroom gala event had to be made due to the pandemic and concerns for public safety. Major changes included the outdoor setting at the Pepsi Amphitheater and the shortened event format, the ceremony was over in two short hours.
Sponsors sat at tables near the stage, other guests sat in the fixed seat area or set up on the lawn. Guests on the lawn brought lawn chairs, picnic blankets, and some even brought coolers and make their own charcuterie boards to enjoy during the ceremony. The outdoor setting was complimented by a beautiful June evening free of rain or smoke.
To see all of this year’s finalists, winners, and videos please click here.
The 13th Annual Viola Awards were indeed like no other in the event’s history. The pandemic allowed us to experiment with the event location and format. Additionally, feedback from attendees is pushing Creative Flagstaff to a reevaluation of the process of soliciting nomination, selecting finalists and panels, and determining winners. We will start this process next month, we will be providing more information for broad community input as we strive for transparency and an event that will truly celebrate and recognize excellence in art, science, and culture in Flagstaff.
