Every year, Homer Council on the Arts recognizes individuals and businesses for their contributions to the local art community during a public awards ceremony.

“As an organization that benefits from a robust and creative artistic community, we feel it is important for HCOA to give back by uplifting up and coming talent, achievement and community members who make such an impact on our organization and the artistic community at large,” said Jenna Gerrety, HCOA marketing assistant. “Recognition and appreciation boosts confidence and productivity and awards and accolades are a valuable way for artists to demonstrate their accomplishments and for businesses to highlight their community values and build goodwill and positive exposure.”

The awards began in 2005 as the idea of Diane Borgman, longtime HCOA board member and someone with a long history of the arts in Homer, having started the Artist in the Schools program, and in several remote Alaska communities, reintroducing Native arts and crafts and creating an artist in the schools program.

“I thought these awards would be a nice way to recognize local artists and we came up with a variety of categories because we wanted to be inclusive,” Borgman said.

Nominations are accepted all year long and awardees are chosen by the HCOA board from nominations submitted the prior year.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR, Abigail Kokai

“The Artist of the Year Award honors local artists who have really stepped it up a notch, who demonstratively impact the local arts scene and have shown sustained productivity,” said Scott Bartlett, HCOA executive director. “Abigail Kokai has embodied these qualities by participating in local galleries and shows and her commercial art products.”

A Homer resident since 2015, Kokai is a full-time artist with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, Industrial Design and a Master of Fine Arts in Fiber Arts. A textile artist and maker whose art is inspired by her playful nature and sense of nostalgia, she has been the recipient of a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award and Connie Boochever Fellowship. During the pandemic, Kokai began creating the Panda Mix Family of characters, a series of large dolls each with their own story and that she has exhibited locally and will show in Homer and Anchorage later this year. In between teaching Artists in the Schools and hosting workshops at HCOA, Kokai is creating Aelon Funk, another Panda Mix Family member, a 90-year old man who won the lottery, bought a spaceship and is exploring the cosmos.

ART ADVOCATE, Homer Art & Frame

“The Art Advocate award honors an individual, organization or business that has shown up to make the arts more visible, available and accessible,” Bartlett said. “Homer Art & Frame has gone above and beyond in 2023, sponsoring art shows, hosting classes and helping artists sell their work.”

Tammy Anderson has owned Homer Art & Frame for the past two years, inspired to purchase the business after leaving a 30-year career in corporate IT and eager to support the artistic endeavors of community members. Anderson offers art and craft supplies, hosts locally taught art classes for all ages and abilities in drawing, sketching, painting, macramé, basket weaving, mosaics, resin pours, and more, including youth art classes during spring and summer break and programs for home-school students. She also provides Open Art Hours where individuals can use her classroom as a temporary art or craft studio, and storage and studio space for the Life Drawing Club, Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society, and Independent Living Center’s Artability group. Anderson also sponsors art events like the Alaska World Arts Festival, hosting festival workshops, and supports artist’s exhibits at Bunnell Street Arts Center, HCOA and the Pratt Museum.

MARY EPPERSON LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, Peter Norton

This award was created after Epperson, one of the HCOA founders, passed away. “Mary had an incredible impact on HCOA and our community at large,” Bartlett said. “Her mission was to find a place for everyone in the arts, whether they were interested in theater, instrumental music, visual art or more. This award honors a community member with a long, storied career and lasting influence on the artistic community, like Peter Norton who has been a keystone of the local theater scene for decades, having a profound impact on youth and local performers.”

A Homer resident since 1981, Norton has been performing on stage for the past 54 years, 42 of those with Pier One Theatre and in more than 100 productions. Actor, assistant director, stage manager, set construction, tech crew, graphic designer and trombonist, he has done it all, both on and off stage, mentoring others and through his passion, his wife and daughters a part of the Homer theater family. With a fondness for working with individuals of varying ages and experiences, Norton inspires and is inspired by those around him.

JILL BERRYMAN ARTS EDUCATION AWARD, Kim Fine

This award was created in recognition of Jill Berryman’s contributions to the local dance and theater communities. “Jill is a dancer and choreographer who founded Homer’s long-running ‘Nutcracker Ballet’ and has fostered the growth of countless young dancers in Homer,” Bartlett said. “This award honors outstanding art educators, like Kim Fine, who in addition to being a beloved teacher at Little Fireweed, is an integral part of musical education in Homer.”

A Homer resident since 1988, Fine is passionate about learning in all its forms. A botanist and biology/environmental studies major, she has worked as a commercial fisherman, an outdoor and wilderness educator, a classroom teacher who incorporated the arts — music, singing, dancing, science, math and literacy arts projects and visual arts. She is a founding member, liaison and board member with Homer OPUS, a nonprofit organization that provides string-based music programs to youth ages kindergarten through high school and adults in Homer and Anchor Point. She was also instrumental in the formation of Homer Youth String Orchestra Club, Paul Banks Preludes and Fireweed Frescoes. Building on her passion for outdoor education, Fine shares that same passion for music education, valuing the transformative quality of music, seeing music as a powerful tool for learning and growth and believing that when children in a community flourish, so does the community.

KATHY & MIKE PATE BUSINESS AWARD, Homer Brewing Company

This award was created in memory of Kathy Pate, an HOCA board member for more than 20 years. “Kathy was a longtime board member and co-owner of Pate Insurance, who was generous to the arts in Homer, including selling the Pate Insurance building to HCOA in 2002, where our organization remains,” Bartlett said. “This award honors businesses who generously support the arts, like Homer Brewing Company who has been a great local event sponsor and supporter of live music in the community.”

Homer Brewing Company co-owners Karen Berger and Steve McCasland opened their doors in 1996 as a way to make a living and live in the community year-round and after McCasland and original brewery partner Lasse Holmes won the Winter Carnival Homerbrew competition. With a passion for supporting the local arts in its many forms, the couple is especially passionate about music. In 1994, they spearheaded the creation of a Homer Mardi Gras celebration which continues today, have supported numerous local events and activities by providing beer and financial support and have hosted numerous bands, including Beausoleil, Low Down Brass Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Clinton Ferron, various Cajun artists and a myriad of Alaskan musicians.

DIANE BORGMAN YOUTH ARTIST OF THE YEAR, Maggie Mae Gaylord

This award honors the numerous contributions Diane Borgman has made to the local art community. “Diane is a retired teacher and school administrator and has been involved in arts advocacy in the community for 40 years,” Bartlett said. “She was instrumental in crafting Alaska’s Artist in the Schools Program, served on the Alaska arts education board and the Alaska state writing consortium board and has had a lifelong passion for youth education and arts. This award recognizes enthusiastic young artists making a prodigious impact, like Maggie May Gaylord, a fabulous performer who plays the violin, dances with silks and studies the art of beekeeping.”

Homer-born and raised, 18-year old Gaylord has been playing the violin since she was 4. She has performed in the All State Orchestra in Anchorage the last two years, a competitive opportunity requiring a recorded audition and just three days of rehearsal prior to the concert and in 2022 traveled to New York City with the Juneau Youth Ensemble to play in the NYC Music Fest at Carnegie Hall. Gaylord attends monthly rehearsals in Anchorage, has been playing with the Homer Youth String Orchestra for the past several years, receiving their Leadership award for her work mentoring string musicians, including organizing a small group of string players, the Bayside Buskers, busking on the Homer Spit during the summer and performing during the Alaska World Arts Festival. She also teaches private music lessons.

MARY LANGHAM VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR, Bob Neubauer

This award is in memory of longtime HCOA volunteer, Mary Langham. “Mary was a supporter of HCOA and was involved in a broad artistic landscape of music, dance, clowning, visual arts and theater,” Bartlett said. “This award honors community members who have dedicated much of their time and effort to local organizations and events, like Bob Neubauer who volunteers with organizations all over town.”

Twenty-two years ago, Neubauer and Nan, his wife of 62 years, moved to Homer after he retired from his career as an electrician. Well known in the community as a volunteer extraordinaire, he has been sharing his time with the Pratt Museum for the past 18 years, the Homer Public Library for the last 16 years, the Islands & Ocean Visitor Center for almost five years and at the Homer Chamber of Commerce for close to 10 years. Neubauer began volunteering because he saw a need and has continued because the needs remain, because he enjoys interacting with locals and visitors and because it gives he sees it as a good use of his time.

Community members are invited to come out and help recognize these individuals during HCOA’s annual meeting and Arts Awards ceremony on Friday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in the HCOA gallery. Nominations can be submitted year-round online at homerart.org and in person at the HCOA building, 355 W Pioneer Avenue.

Kim Fine, winner of the 2023 Jill Berryman Arts Education Award, skis Homer’s Wolf Ridge on New Year’s in 2021. Photo provided by Kim Fine

Maggie Mae Gaylord, winner of the 2023 Diane Borgman Youth Artist of the Year award, plays in the All-State high school orchestra in Anchorage in the fall of 2023. Photo provided by ASAA

Abigail Kokai, winner of the 2023 Artist of the Year award, is photographed with Yella, an inflatable character she created in 2020. Photo provided by Abigail Kokai

Peter Norton, winner of the 2023 Mary Epperson Lifetime Achievement Award, performs as Lord Caversham in a 2019 Pier One Theatre production of “An Ideal Husband.” Photo provided by Pier One Theatre

Homer community member and community-wide volunteer Bob Neubauer, pictured here at the Pratt Museum, is the winner of the 2023 Mary Langham Volunteer of the Year award from Homer Council on the Arts. Photo provided by the Pratt Museum

Homer Brewing Company co-owners Karen Berger (right) and Stephen McCasland pose inside the brewery with Buddy Bear, aka Mardi Buddy, in January 2024. Photo provided by Homer Brewing Company