Homer arts council awards celebrate local creators, contributors

By Delcenia Cosman • February 2, 2023 9:00 am
Tags: ,
(from left to right) HCOA Community Arts Awardees Daniel Perry (pictured on screen), Michael Armstrong, Cathy Stingley, Krista Etzweiler, Sherry Stead and Brianna Allen pose with their awards at the HCOA annual meeting Friday.
(from left to right) HCOA Community Arts Awardees Daniel Perry (pictured on screen), Michael Armstrong, Cathy Stingley, Krista Etzweiler, Sherry Stead and Brianna Allen pose with their awards at the HCOA annual meeting Friday.

The Homer Council on the Arts announced the recipients of the 2022 Community Arts Awards during their annual meeting last Friday evening. The awards presentation, begun in 2005, celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of local artists to Homer’s “colorful” arts community.

This year’s recipients are:

Diane Borgman Youth Artist of the Year: Leah Dunn

Kathy and Mike Pate Business of the Year: Grace Ridge Brewery

Art Advocate of the Year: Michael Armstrong

Mary Langham Volunteer of the Year: Cathy Stingley

Jill Berryman Arts Education Award: Krista Etzwiler

Artist of the Year: Brianna Allen

Mary Epperson Lifetime Achievement in the Arts: Daniel Perry

Two awardees, Dunn and Perry, were unable to attend the presentation in person.

HCOA Executive Director Scott Bartlett shared with Homer News short bios compiled for each awardee.

Dunn, a senior at Homer High School, paints acrylic landscapes and has recently expanded into watercolors. She “has technical skill and wisdom of place beyond her years,” according to her bio.

Don and Sherry Stead, owners of Grace Ridge Brewing Company, use their business as a “community gathering spot” and “a place to showcase local artists with the focus on artists for their first showing.”

Michael Armstrong, former editor for Homer News, advocated for the arts in the Homer community for 23 years in his capacity as a journalist.

Cathy Stingley currently serves as president of the Board of Directors for Pier One Theatre, Inc. and leads a weekly musical jam session at HCOA.

Krista Etzweiler has many years of teaching and connecting art to education in Homer schools, and “plans to continue teaching art in the new HCOA ceramic studio along with some other visual arts.”

Brianna Allen has served on the Bunnell Street Arts Center board as the Marketing and Development Leader since 2016, and is part of multiple creative collaborations in connection with her social art project, “The Momologue Collective.”

Daniel Perry “has been a prominent creative force in music locally … [and] has collaborated in a number of local chamber music concerts including those for the Homer Council of the Arts, the Bunnell Street Art Center and the Pratt Museum,” according to information shared by Bartlett.

For more information, contact HCOA at 907-235-4288 or visit hcoa@homerart.org.

Tags: ,