91爆料

Award Recipient: Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching

Chau, Visual Arts Supervisor for Somerville Public Schools, is honored for her commitment to cultivating a collaborative arts education environment. Her teaching encourages creativity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning in one of the state鈥檚 most diverse school systems, continuing 91爆料鈥檚 legacy of training transformative arts educators.

Edgerton鈥檚 work with the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program (R.O.P.E.) uplifts young women of color by promoting self-sufficiency and global citizenship. Her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion has earned her widespread recognition, including honorary degrees.

Award Recipient: Distinguished Alumni Award

Elka, founder of Future Chefs, has made a profound impact on youth development through culinary arts in Boston. Her nonprofit provides life skills, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to prepare young people for success. Elka鈥檚 leadership has been nationally recognized for empowering youth and fostering social change.

Guzman is celebrated for her leadership in curating the Punto Urban Art Museum (PUAM) in Salem, MA. Her efforts in transforming underserved communities through public art reflect her commitment to inclusivity, creative placemaking, and cultural preservation.

Miles, founder of the Black Joy Initiative, is recognized for his efforts to promote equity through art and culture. His initiatives, including Black Joy Day and youth-authored publications, highlight his commitment to uplifting marginalized communities and fostering joy and resilience.

Wiseman, an acclaimed filmmaker with 44 documentaries to his name, captures the human experience through the lens of social institutions. His work has received four Emmys and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival, along with an Academy Honorary Award in 2016.

Award Recipient: Distinguished Alumni Award

Dominican-American artist and alumna Silvia L贸pez Chavez (鈥�00 Graphic Design and Illustration) will be honored with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award for her community-centered murals that form connections across disciplines and cultural boundaries. She uses joy as an act of resistance and celebration through her vibrant murals. Her work, which can be seen all over the Commonwealth and beyond, transforms urban spaces by honoring the identity of a place and its people.

Real estate developer聽Karl Frey聽and his wife聽Patty Cullen聽were honored along with the聽Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston聽for their partnership, with support from tenant artists, to permanently preserve聽Western Avenue in Lowell, MA. One of the largest artist communities in the country, Western Avenue is comprised of 250 artist work studios, 50 artist live/work lofts, artist gallery, and a 250 person live music performance venue. Western Avenue is home to at least 23 91爆料 alumni.

The founders of The Secret Society of Black Creatives (SSBC), Evelyn Brito, Malik Williams, 91爆料 alumni Vladimir Minuty and 91爆料 faculty member Nerissa Williams Scott, all creative professionals, have dedicated themselves to creating a pipeline for Black creators into film, music, advertising, and other areas of production. From The Drop, their work in schools and with youth groups to expose young people to the industry, to The Konnect, their networking events for young people interested in these kinds of careers to The Dojo, their mentoring program, SSBC is giving back so youth can see themselves in lucrative production careers.

American rock band Wilco were honored for Solid Sound, the festival they founded in 2010 in partnership with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) in North Adams. 91爆料 will honor them for their incredible work with Mass MoCA, for their commitment to the Berkshires, and their adventurous curatorial vision. They set out to create the kind of festival they, as music fans, would like to attend, and in the process, cultivated a longstanding civic institution that brings thousands of people, economic activity, an unmistakable sense of community, and international visibility to one of the most beautiful corners of the Commonwealth.

Pediatrician, musician,and author, Dr. Lisa Wong is an assistant professor of pediatrics and associate co-director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School. With a deep interest in the intersection between the arts and health, she is heavily involved in interdisciplinary programming as well as scholarship on the local, national, and international levels. Lisa has been a pediatrician at Milton Pediatric Associates since 1986, and served as president of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra for 21 years. There, she was the lead designer of the orchestra鈥檚 鈥淗ealing Art of Music Program鈥� documented in her book, Scales to Scalpels: Doctors who practice the healing arts of Music and Medicine. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Lisa 聽helped create Boston Hope Music to provide music and music education virtually to patients, staff and caregivers. 聽She currently teaches a course on music, health and education at Harvard University and serves on the boards of Conservatory Lab Charter School, A Far Cry ensemble, and BPS Arts Expansion initiative. Most recently she has been working with the Massachusetts Cultural Council on Culture Rx, an innovative model of cultural social prescription for health.

Award Recipient: Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching

Recently retired Boston Public Schools art teacher Jozeph Zaremba (鈥�81 BFA Illustration) was honored with the inaugural Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mr. Zaremba, known as 鈥淢r. Z,鈥� taught at the Henderson Inclusion and Harbor Schools in Dorchester and is an alumnus of 91爆料. The award is named for Frances Euphemia Thompson, a groundbreaking artist and lifelong educator who graduated from 91爆料 (then called the Massachusetts Normal Art School) in 1936. A graduate of Lesley College (now Lesley University), a two time Fund For Teachers fellowship recipient, art director at Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, and a founding teacher of the Harbor School, Mr. Zaremba, like Ms. Thompson, inspired a generation of young students.