The Farmington Area Arts Commission is pleased to announce the selections for 2015 Artist in Residence, Distinguished Service to the Arts Awards, and the High School Student Art Competition winners. The recipients will be honored at the Festival of the Arts Reception and Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 17 at the Costick Center at 28600 W. Eleven Mile Road in Farmington Hills. The reception will start at 6 p.m. with the ceremony following at 7 p.m.
The event marks the 39th year of recognizing excellence in the arts in the Farmington community. The Artist in Residence Award is given each year to a resident of Farmington or Farmington Hills who displays exceptional talent and artistic accomplishments. The Distinguished Service to the Arts Award recognizes outstanding service to the community in the creative arts by a group or individual.
The High School Student Art Competition takes place each year, and is open to all high school students residing in or attending school in Farmington/Farmington Hills. The Farmington Art Foundation award winners and the Farmington Public Schools PTA Reflections competition winners will also be recognized at the ceremony.
The 2015 Artist in Residence will be awarded to accomplished musician and Farmington Hills resident Ara Topouzian. In 1991, in order to record and preserve Armenian, Arabic, and other forms of traditional music, Topouzian founded American Recording Productions (ARP). Since then, his record label has produced over 30 recordings of Armenian, Middle Eastern, Bulgarian, and Greek music with worldwide distribution both in retail stores and online. Most recently Topouzian was awarded the 2012 Kresge Artist Fellowship for the Performing Arts, and was voted "Best Local Folk Artist" by WDIV Channel 4 Detroit. "My ultimate goal is to find unique and innovative ways to make music accessible and engaging," said Topouzian.
The 2015 Distinguished Service to the Arts Award will be given to kickstART Farmington. Founded in 2012, kickstART Farmington is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization based in Farmington Hills. "We are incredibly honored to receive this award as kickstART Farmington was founded with the simple belief that the arts play an important role in building community. Everything kickstART has done to this point - from Super 8 Movie Night and the Gratitude Photo Project to the Greater Farmington Film Festival - has been undertaken with the goal of making our community an even better place to live, work, and visit," said kickstART co-founder Dwayne Hayes.
The 2015 High School Student Art Competition winners were chosen by juror Ted Hadfield, an accomplished artist and graduate of the Cranbrook Institute of Arts, who is also the owner of Artpack Services, Inc. of Farmington Hills.
The High School Student Art Competition winners are:
2-Dimensional
1st place: Natalie Gaines, Farmington
2nd place: Molane Hu, Mercy
3rd place: Miranda Stano, Mercy
3-Dimensional
1st place: Evan Jeffries, Harrison
2nd place: Sydney Akin, Mercy
3rd place: Miranda Stano, Mercy
Photography
1st place: Jaya Jankowski, Mercy
2nd place: Rita Erickson, Mercy
3rd place: Hanna McInnis, Mercy
Honorable Mention
Katie Romero, Harrison (2-Dimensional)
Jacob Shulkin, Harrison (2-Dimensional)
Jacqueline Golias, Mercy (Photography)
Dana Matson, Farmington (Photography)
Sophie Linden, North Farmington (2-Dimensional)
Erica Abbot, Harrison (3-Dimensional)
The 2015 Festival of the Arts Reception and Awards Ceremony is open to all ages, and will feature appetizers, a cash bar (21+), and music by the OCC Jazz Band. The Ceremony will also include performances by the Farmington Hills Youth Theatre/Mary Poppins cast, Farmington Community Chorus, DDCdances, 2014 Artists in Residence winners Jim and Susan Nuckolls, and Monica Howard, PTA Reflections/High School Dance winner.
Tickets are $5 per person when purchased by April 8, or $10 per person after. Purchase tickets online at https://recreg.fhgov.com or in person at the Costick Center. For more information, call 248-473-1848.
The Festival of the Arts is produced annually by the Farmington Community Arts Council, the Farmington Hills Special Services Department/Cultural Arts Division, Farmington Public Schools, and the Farmington Area Arts Commission. The 2015 Festival of the Arts is made possible in part by the generous support of the Farmington/Farmington Hills Education Foundation and by Beztak Properties of Farmington Hills.
For more information, go to http://www.fhgov.com/Services/CulturalArts/Festivals.asp.
