Meier Achievement Awards for 2021 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Chicago Artists

Morgan Frank, Sam Jaffee and Zack (“Beverly Fre$h”) Ostrowski recognized for innovation, past achievements, and community contributions 

 

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 16th Arts Achievement Awards.  Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

This year, the Foundation is giving out three awards to Chicago area artists in several genres, a total of $120,000 in awards. The 2021 awardees are poet Morgan Frank, fabric artist Sam Jaffee, performance and visual artist Beverly Fresh (Zach Ostrowski). 

Rebecca Morgan Frank is the author of four collections of poems, most recently Oh You Robot Saints! (2021). Called a “poet of the exacting and harrowing,” her poetry and prose have appeared such places as The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books, Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, and elsewhere.  Morgan’s poems are sought out for frequent musical settings in art song and modern music with composers such as Eric Malmquist, Aaron Stepp, and Mara Gibson. Helen says, “Morgan’s poetry presents compelling visions and intriguing premises.” For more information, see https://rebeccamorganfrank.com/

Samantha Jaffee is a Chicago-based fabric artist. Characterized by wacky, toxic color and overstuffed, mutating forms, Sam Jaffe’s recent work explores labor, folk and domestic art traditions, ornamentation, collecting behaviors, femininity, and the grotesque fallibility of the human body. All art materials are recycled, reused, repurposed, dead-stock, vintage, or otherwise sustainably sourced. Sam received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 and her MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. Helen adds, “Sam’s masterful realization of textiles capture the eye and tease the senses.” For more information, see https://thesamjaffee.com

Beverly Fresh (Zach Ostrowski) is a contemporary artist and musician from the rural Midwest.  He examines cultural structures through a variety of media, including drawing, graphic design, installation, video, music, parody and performance. He has a BFA in Graphic Design/Interactive Media from the College for Creative Studies and an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is an Associate Professor of Graphic Art at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. Tim says, “Beverly Fresh uses his insightful and imaginative vision over many different media to comment on our American culture.” For more information, see https://www.beverlyfresh.com/WHUT

About the Meier Achievement Award
The 2021 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000.  Since its inception, the Foundation has presented 53 Chicago-area artists with awards. There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.”  For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients:  

Krista Franklin, writer and visual artist

Terisa Griffin, singer

Candace Hunter, collage, painting, installations, and performance artist

Corrinne Imberski, dance performer

Ayesha Jaco, educator and coreographer

Angel Pagan, multi-media artist

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder, Chicago Music Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band 

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre 

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist,  and composer

Simone Muench, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

Damon Locks, visual artist and musician

James Morrow, dancer and choreographer

Dan Ramirez, painter

Eric Stephenson, sculptor

Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point

Stacy Garrop, composer

Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer

Tim Anderson, painter

Chris Bradley, sculptor

Chloe Jensen, choreographer and artistic director, Aerial Dance Chicago

Jill King, sculptor

Renee Baker, composer

Eric Lindsey, sculptor,

Scott Stack, painter

Elsa Munoz, painter

Mike Reed, drummer/impresario

Olea Nova, painter/composer

Meier Achievement Awards for 2020 Gives Thanks for Work of Six Chicago Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 15th Arts Achievement Awards.  Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

This year, the Foundation is giving out a record six awards to Chicago area artists in many genres, a total of $240,000 in awards. The 2020 awardees are poet/painter Krista Franklin, singer/composer Terisa Griffin, multi-media artist Candace Hunter, dancer/choreographer Corinne Imberski, dancer/choreographer Ayesha Jaco, and painter Angel Pagan. 

Krista Franklin is a writer and visual artist, the author Too Much Midnight (Haymarket Books, 2020), the artist book Under the Knife (Candor Arts, 2018), and the chapbook Study of Love & Black Body (Willow Books, 2012). She is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant and has been published in Poetry.  Helen says, “Krista is a beautiful American woman and explorer who self-creates and re-creates herself.”  For more information, see https://www.kristafranklin.com

Terisa Griffin – Soulful singer/composer Terisa Griffin has produced and starred in her “One Voice, One Woman” concert series, and has produced four successful independent albums, which includes her latest “The Soul Revival.” She also won the Chicago Music Award for Solo Independent Artist of the Year. Terisa’s charity, Better Love Yourself, helps young adults master the art of loving and caring for themselves while succeeding at college. Helen says, “Her realness embraces us so solidly. She is real Chicago, whether singing her works or classics.” For more information, see www.terisagriffin.com

Candace Hunter creates collage, paintings, installations and performance art to tell stories. Through the use of appropriated materials from magazines, vintage maps, cloth, various re-used materials, she offers this new landscape of materials back to the viewer with a glimpse of history and admiration of the beautiful. Tim observes, “Candace tells an exciting story of someone who can’t stay away from art, visualizing the loss to Africa in the same instant celebrating America’s needs in beauty and social justice.” For more information, see http://www.chleeart.com/

Corinne Imberski is a Chicago based dance performer, choreographer, improviser, and educator. As an independent dance artist, Corinne has presented solo and ensemble works for over thirty years, at venues grand, small, and impromptu. She has staged her choreography throughout the country. Helen observes the Corinne creates “clean, focused post-modern dance, so well thought out.” For more information, see https://www.corinneimberski.com/

Ayesha Jaco is a Chicago based philanthropist, educator and choreographer. Ayesha is the founder and Artistic Director of Move Me Soul, an internationally traveled youth dance company headquartered on Chicago’s West Side. Ayesha’s disciplinary focus is a fusion of contemporary modern, jazz, West African and hiphop dance.  Helen is “grateful that Ayesha makes a pathway via dance to form bonds, create something wonderful, and show students how they fit into America.”  For more information, see www.movemesoul.org.

Angel Pagan began his career as an urban and graffiti artist.  After attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago, he expanded to public murals and fine art, Tim says, “Angel has much to say as he has bridged street art to fine art – a brave transition. Bravo!” Angel self-represents his work. For more information, see http://romewon.com

About the Meier Achievement Award

The 2020 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000.  Since its inception, the Foundation has presented 50 Chicago-area artists with awards. There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.”  For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org

Past Recipients:  

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder, Chicago Music Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band 

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre 

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist,  and composer

Simone Muench, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

Damon Locks, visual artist and musician

James Morrow, dancer and choreographer

Dan Ramirez, painter

Eric Stephenson, sculptor

Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point

Stacy Garrop, composer

Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer

Tim Anderson, painter

Chris Bradley, sculptor

Chloe Jensen, choreographer and artistic director, Aerial Dance Chicago

Jill King, sculptor

Renee Baker, composer

Eric Lindsey, sculptor,

Scott Stack, painter

Elsa Munoz, painter

Mike Reed, drummer/impresario

Olea Nova, painter/composer

Meier Achievement Awards for 2019 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Chicago Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 14th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

The 2019 awardees are painter Elsa Munoz, painter Olea Nova, and drummer/impresario Mike Reed.

Elsa Munoz – Ms. Munoz is an oil painter who works in series. Common subjects in her work are seascapes, forests, fires, tornados, the night, and figurative subjects who typically evade the viewer’s gaze. Elsa’s choice of subject matter is directly influenced by her cultural identity and experience growing up on the south side of Chicago, daughter to working class Mexican immigrants, and kept inside most of the time because of gang violence in her neighborhood. Helen Meier says: “Elsa uses simple things to create great beauty.” For more information, see http://www.elsamunoz.com.

Olea Nova – Ms. Nova is a visual artist and composer. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and is a graduate of the University of Humanities and Social Sciences in St. Petersburg, Russia and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her body of work encompasses painting, drawing, printmaking, video and sound. There is no narrative content in her work. By exploring her sense of non-objective form, Olea Nova dematerializes objects and creates space that is non-referential. Olea Nova lives and works in Chicago. Tim says Olea’s work “gives place to imagination.” For more information, see http://www.oleanova.com.

Mike Reed – Mr. Reed is a musician, composer, bandleader and arts presenter based in Chicago. Over the last two decades he has emerged as a dominant force within Chicago’s diverse artistic community, both through the music he makes and the live events he produces. In addition to leading or co-leading several working bands, he is founding director of the Pitchfork Music Festival, the current programming chair of the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the owner and director of the acclaimed performing arts venues Constellation and the Hungry Brain. He is a devoted cultural advocate committed to providing platforms for artistic expression unhindered by commercial pressures. Helen says, “Mike is both an artist and impresario. He is expanding Chicago’s jazz classics and finding new forms.” For more information, see https://www.mikereed-music.com.

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2019 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000. There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements. This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients:
Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre
James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre
Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works
John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist
Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project
PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre
Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater
Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center
Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist
Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults
James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records
Terry Karpowicz, sculptor
Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist
Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company
Wesley Kimler, painter
Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer
Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor
Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor
Jack Zimmerman, storyteller
Sean Graney, playwright
Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist
Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator
Simone Muench, poet
Chris Newman, sculptor
Donald Noon, sculptor
Damon Locks, visual artist and musician
James Morrow, dancer and choreographer
Dan Ramirez, painter
Eric Stephenson, sculptor
Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point
Stacy Garrop, composer
Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer
Tim Anderson, painter
Chris Bradley, sculptor
Chloe Jensen, choreographer and artistic director, Aerial Dance Chicago
Jill King, sculptor
Renee Baker, composer
Eric Lindsey, sculptor,
Scott Stack, painter

Meier Achievement Awards for 2018 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 13th Arts Achievement Awards.  Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

The 2018 awardees are composer/conductor Renee Baker, sculptor Eric Lindsey, and painter Scott Stack.

Renee Baker Ms. Baker is founding music director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Chicago Modern Orchestra Project (CMOP), a polystylistic orchestral organization that grew from the plums of classical music, as well as jazz. Her compositions are crafted from her many talents with carefully constructed environments that also allow indeterminacy, experimentalism, classicism, subjectivity, and objective interpretations to co-exist. Intense but rewarding for both performer and listener/viewer, all parties are cast into unknown roles upon encounter, to be radically inside a temporary environment of limitless inhabitation.  Helen Meier says: “Renee thrills and unsettles. She tries to unsettle the world.” For more information, see http://www.reneebakercomposer.net.

Eric Lindsey – In 1977, Eric accepted a position as a sculptor’s apprentice to Daniel Lowery at his studio in O’Fallon, Illinois, learning mold making, woodcarving, clay, metal casting, and iron forging.  Discovering stone working after arriving in Chicago was the only natural next step. After meeting Isamu Noguchi, he felt determined to combine elements of all of these materials to create a singular body of work that became “something it already was.” Helen says Eric’s “mastery of stone, with a touch of iron to open our eyes, is determinedly seductive. I like your unpredictability.” For more information, see http://www.lindseystudioartworks.net/.

Scott Stack – The Chicago Cultural Center recently exhibited a celebrated showing of Scott’s paintings “that challenge our perceptual capabilities as well as defy conventional categories and operations of abstract and representational traditions in modern painting.” Scott’s work engages the viewer to search for a way to make sense of the pattern we are seeing. Scott’s work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest and New York.Tim says, “His work pulled me onto the canvas and then on a journey into the depth of the painting. Levels of meaning appear as you study his work.” For more information, see www.scottstack.com

 

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2018 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.”  For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

 

Past Recipients: 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator

Simone Muench, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

Damon Locks, visual artist and musician

James Morrow, dancer and choreographer

Dan Ramirez, painter

Eric Stephenson, sculptor

Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point

Stacy Garrop, composer

Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer

Tim Anderson, painter

Chris Bradley, sculptor

Chloe Jensen, choreographer and artistic director, Aerial Dance Chicago

Jill King, sculpter

Meier Achievement Awards for 2017 Gives Thanks for Work of Four Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 12th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

The 2017 awardees are painter Tim Anderson, sculptor Chris Bradley, choreographer Chloe Jensen, and sculptor Jill King.

Tim Anderson – A meticulous portrait and abstract painter, Tim has exhibited continuously since 1978 in Chicago and internationally, including Edinburgh, Moscow, Munich, Regensburg, Krakow, Wolfenbuttel, Italy, Paris, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. As one of the founders of “The Coldhouse Group,” he initiated a new and successful exhibition concept using abandoned cold storage warehouses and rail terminals as exhibition halls. Tim has conceived and executed large commissions about Chicago, including 70 oils of Chicagoans for the Equitable Building as well as portraits of 24 historic and contemporary Chicagoans for the Beverly Branch Library. Tim Meier says, “Tim’s work is magnificently communicative.  He is beautifully and thoroughly trained.”  For more information, see www.timandersonart.com

Chris Bradley received his BFA from the University of Michigan, and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is an instructor. His recent exhibition history includes solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Shane Campbell Gallery (Chicago), Roberto Paradise (San Juan, PR), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Raleigh, and group shows at The Renaissance Society, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Helen Meier says, “Bradley’s art is whimsical, innovative and comments on function and dysfunction.” For more information, see www.chrisbradley.us.

Chloe Jensen is the Founder and Creative Director of Aerial Dance Chicago, a nonprofit organization she formed in 1999 to explore her vision of taking dance into flight. She earned a specialized degree from the College of Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University combining dance, education and physical education. Chloe continued her study of dance, choreography and kinesiology in graduate school at Arizona State University. In addition to her work for ADC, she has danced for The Lyric Opera of Chicago and for a unique trampoline-ballet by Cirque du Soleil choreographer Debra Brown. Now entering its 19th season, ADC has recently performed her works, including UnEarthed (2011), Gravity (2013), Aya (2015) and Ghost Stories (2016).  Helen says, “Chloe relishes the relationship between body and mind.” For more information, see www.aerialdancechicago.org.

Jill King is a Chicago born artist whose suspended sculptures take the viewer on a journey from the smallest elements of creation, such as a seed under a microscope and into vast galaxies light years away. King’s art has been exhibited at the Lincoln Park Conservatory, Expo Chicago, SOFA Chicago, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago and many galleries throughout the Midwest. Her work is in several private and public collections throughout the country, including The Lorraine Morton Civic Center, Evanston IL and the Loyola Medical Center in Burr Ridge, IL. Helen says Jill is “the Queen of unpredictable moments.” For more information, see www.jillkingstudio.com.

The Meier Achievement Award 

The 2017 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients : 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator

Simone Muench, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

Damon Locks, visual artist and musician

James Morrow, dancer and choreographer

Dan Ramirez, painter

Eric Stephenson, sculptor

Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point

Stacy Garrop, composer

Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer

Meier Achievement Awards for 2016 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 11th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.

The 2016 awardees are trumpeter and conductor Stephen Burns, composer Stacy Garrop, and dancer/choreographer Ayako Kato.

Stephen Burns – conductor, trumpet virtuoso, and educator – is the Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project in Chicago and co-curator with Augusta Read Thomas of the 2016 Ear Taxi Festival of Contemporary Music in Chicago. He has been acclaimed on four continents for his consistently and widely varied performances encompassing recitals, orchestral appearances, chamber ensemble engagements, and innovative multi-media presentations involving video, dance theatre, and sculpture. Tim Meier says, “For twenty years, Stephen has guided Fulcrum Point as it has shifted its vision, responding to social change and responding to new audiences.” For more information, see www.fulcrumpoint.org.

Stacy Garrop is a composer whose works are centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling, and which have been performed by chamber groups, choruses and orchestras nationwide. Stacy earned degrees in music composition at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (B.M.), University of Chicago (M.A.), and Indiana University-Bloomington (D.M.). After teaching composition full-time at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University from 2000-2016, she stepped down from her position to compose full-time. Helen Meier says, “Stacy’s work conjures a broad range of exploration.”   For more information, see www.garrop.com or www.composerinklings.com/

Ayako Kato is an award-winning Japanese native and Chicago-based dancer, choreographer, improviser, teacher, and curator. Influenced by a Japanese view of nature and the philosophy of Tao, Ayako’s dance movement encourages the viewer to perceive the intangible, and the beauty of being as it is. In 2016, she received a 3Arts Award in Dance. In Summer 2016, Ayako participated in the Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI) of its National Dance Project (NDP) funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts with the Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF). Since 2010, Ayako has been an artist in residence at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater under Chicago Moving Company’s Dance Shelter Program. Helen Meier says, “Ayako choreographs silence and stillness in symphonic balance with action.” For more information, see www.artunionhumanscape.net.

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2014 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients : 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator

Simone Muench, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

Damon Locks, visual artist and musician

James Morrow, dancer and choreographer

Dan Ramirez, painter

Eric Stephenson, sculptor

Meier Achievement Awards for 2015 Gives Thanks for Work of Four Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 10th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope. “We give these gifts at Thanksgiving time to show appreciation for their work,” says Helen.

The 2015 awardees are multi-media artist Damon Locks, dancer and choreographer James Morrow, painter Dan Ramirez, and sculptor Eric Stephenson.

Damon Locks is a multi-media artist and activist, using drawing, digital manipulation, photography and silk screen to create his art. He is also a performing artist through his work with the group The Eternals and other collaborations. Damon Locks received his BFA in Fine Arts form the School of the Art Institute. His work often revolves around people and their landscape; the narrative themes of protest, unrest, and tension are woven throughout. The work can feel socially political and/or fantastically abstract in its narrative. Helen Meier congratulates Damon for his “border crossing in arts, especially his dizzyingly subjective points of view.  Damon has a bracingly fresh talent.” For more information, see http://www.damonlocks.com.

James Morrow, a Chicago native, is the founder and artistic director of james morrow/ The Movement. Morrow integrates the classical vocabulary prevalent in concert dance into the hip-hop culture with which he is submerged.  He has been recipient of the Artist Ambassador Award to Northeastern Illinois University (2001), The Mordine and Co. Mentoring Project (2006), Chicago Cultural Dance Center’s Dance Bridge (2008), Movement Research at Judson Church (2012), SOLO Commissioned Choreographer for Minnesota’s McKnight Dance Fellow (Stephen Schroeder 2012), Bates Teacher Fellowship (2013), and Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Choreography (2014). He has worked with many Chicago companies. He is currently living in Salem, MA and working as an assistant professor of dance at Salem State University. Helen Meier says, “his work has a hypnotic focus and is awash in clashing impulses.  He is a defiant shot to the future.” For more information, see www.jamesmorrow/the movement.com.

Dan Ramirez is a painter born in Chicago in 1941. He received a BA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1975 and an MFA from the University of Chicago in 1977. Ramirez work is characterized as creating metaphor and narrative through geometric abstraction. He is Professor Emeritus as University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award in 2005. Ramirez’ work has been exhibited in the US as well as in Spain, Scotland, Mexico, Germany and Italy. It has been featured in over 30 solo exhibitions since 1974 and may be found in numerous private, corporate and public collections. He is currently represented by the Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago. Tim Meier says admiringly, “his work shows awareness of patterns forming, though he never makes too much of the obvious – a fresh approach.” For more information, see http://www.danramirezart.com.

Eric Stephenson is an American sculptor based in Chicago whose work explores the form, spirit, and experience of the body, human and otherwise, rendered through abstraction and informed by industrial materials and methods. Stephenson’s work is found in numerous private and public collections. Stephenson received his BFA from the Pennsylvania State University and MFA from the University of Houston, and in 2014 completed a SIM Residency in Reykjavik, Iceland. Eric is a leader in the artistic community as president of Chicago Sculpture International. Tim says, “We appreciate his exploration of the human form, in its suggestion and subtext.  Eric’s work has a largeness of spirit.” For more information, see http://www.ericwstephenson.com.

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2014 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000. The Foundation uses nominators.  There is a research phase.  The Board makes the final selection.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients : 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Sean Graney, playwright

Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist

Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator

Simone Munch, poet

Chris Newman, sculptor

Donald Noon, sculptor

 

 

 

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Meier Achievement Awards for 2014 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Artists

The Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier have released the names of the 2014 Honorees for their 9th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope. “We give these gifts at Thanksgiving to show appreciation for their work,” says Helen.

The 2014 awardees are
Simone Muench, Chris Newman, and Donald Noon.

Simone Muench is the author of five full-length poetry collections: The Air Lost in Breathing (Helicon Nine, 2000), winner of the Marianne Moore Prize for Poetry; Lampblack & Ash (Sarabande, 2005) winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize for Poetry and an Editor’s Choice at The New York Times Book Review; Orange Crush (Sarabande, 2010); Disappearing Address, co-written with Philip Jenks (BlazeVOX, 2010), and Wolf Centos (Sarabande, 2014). She received a 2013 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship and other honors. Now at Lewis University, she is Professor of English and Director of the Creative and Professional Writing Program, in addition to serving as chief faculty advisor for Jet Fuel Review. Helen Meier says, “Simone’s work is often dark, sometime macabre, but in the end, grasping and grabbing for life’s essence.” For more information, see www.simonemuench.com.

Chris Newman is a sculptor of both abstract and figurative works. In the 1970s, Chris taught sculpture, 3-D design and art history at the junior and senior college levels and exhibited in the Philadelphia and New York areas. Life circumstances forced the suspension of his art career and he moved to Chicago to pursue a career in health care management to raise his two sons as a single parent. He was able to return to actively making sculpture when the boys grew older. Today, he actively exhibits all around the Chicago area, and in other states. Tim Meier says, “Chris’ works are consistently compelling, showing simplicity and purity.” For more information, see www.chrisnewmansculpture.com.

Donald Noon is a sculptor residing in Streator, Illinois. He received his MFA from Indiana University, and has produced large scale steel works, some of which are on display in and around Streator. He has exhibited in Chicago and the Quad Cities area. His one-man show, “The Monolith Series,” will be opening at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria in January 2015. He remains employed as a welder at Caterpillar, where he has worked for thirty years. Tim Meier says admiringly, “Donald’s work tells the truth, not what he thinks someone wants to see.” For more information, contact dtnoon@mchsi.com.

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2014 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $33,333.33 (which is $25,000 & 33% for income tax).  The Foundation uses nominators.  There is a research phase.  The Board makes the final selection.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients : 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre
James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre
Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works
John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist
Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project
PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre
Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater
Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center
Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist
Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults
James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records
Terry Karpowicz, sculptor
Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist
Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company
Wesley Kimler, painter
Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer
Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor
Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor
Jack Zimmerman, storyteller
Sean Graney, playwright
Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist
Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator

Meier Achievement Awards for 2013 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Artists, Former Honoree Wins National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 8th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope. “We give these gifts at Thanksgiving to show appreciation for their work,” says Helen.

The 2013 awardees are director/playwright Sean Graney, multi-media composer and artist Rob Mazurek, and composer/curator Julia Miller.

Sean Graney is the founder and former artistic director of The Hypocrites He was a participant in the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He has won three Joseph Jefferson Citation awards for the Direction of Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, Equus and Machinal. He has directed at numerous Midwest theaters including Chicago Shakespeare Court Theatre and Court Theatre. He is currently adapting the 32 surviving Greek tragedies into one epic script called All Our Tragic. Helen Meier says, “I’ve been in love with Sean’s innovations for years. His dreams are epic, but genuine and well-grounded.” For more information, see www.seangraney.com.

Rob Mazurek is a cornetist, electro-acoustic composer, and visual artist. Rob founded the all-star Chicago-based Exploding Star Orchestra in 2005, and participates in seven other ensembles here and abroad. Recently profiled on the cover of The Wire Magazine, Rob has been characterized as making “cosmic connections between free jazz, science fiction, and the music of Brazil.” Helen Meier says, “His work is stupendous. Enjoy the effervescence of his imagination.” For more information, see www.ronmazurek.com

Julia Miller is a sound artist, guitarist, improvisor, composer, visual artist, curator and educator. Julia hosts and programs the Articular Facet series, featuring performances using ancient, adapted, or hacked technology, invented instruments and performative objects combined with traditional musical instruments. As a composer, she is currently working on an improvised opera, Dissecting Norton. As a guitarist, Julia performs with the noise funk quartet Volcano Radar with Elbio Barilari, Harrison Bankhead, and Avreeayl Ra. Helen Meier notes, “Julia Miller’s fresh ideas are far-reaching and subtle.” For more information, see www.juliamiller.com.

In a related development, StoryCatchers Theatre, founded by 2007 awardee Meade Palidofsky, received the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in a ceremony on Friday from First Lady Michelle Obama. “We give these awards to encourage artists in mid-career to keep on going,” says Tim Meier, “and we are so proud when our honorees continue to grow in their careers.”

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2012 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $33,333.33 (which is $25,000 & 33% for income tax). The Foundation uses nominators. There is a research phase. The Board makes the final selection. There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements. This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Past Recipients :

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor

Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor

Jack Zimmerman, storyteller

Meier Achievement Awards for 2012 Gives Thanks for Work of Three Artists

Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 7th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope. “We give these gifts at Thanksgiving to show appreciation for their work,” says Helen.

The 2012 awardees are sculptor Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor Bernard Williams, and writer Jack Zimmerman.

Mindy Rose Schwartz is interested in the way an individual’s experiences with and memories of mass-produced objects can alter their intended meaning or function.  She makes sculptures that attempt to show the morphing effect that use, experience, and emotion can have on our perception of things. Her work is currently on exhibit at New Capital Gallery in Chicago. Helen Meier says, “Mindy’s work is textural and sometimes demonstrates a feminine aspect. She expresses the emotion contained in objects.” For more information, see www.mindyroseschwartz.com.

Bernard Williams is a painter, sculptor and installation artist. His works often reference architecture, history and industry, commenting on society, culture and design. A long time member of the Chicago Public Art Group, a premiere community based arts organization, Williams has produced painted outdoor and indoor murals (usually with youth participation) in many neighborhoods and schools around Chicago and abroad. Tim Meier says, “Bernard shows strong works of iconic Americana. He has a definite point of view.” For more information, see www.bernardwilliamsart.com.

Jack Zimmerman grew up on the Southwest Side of Chicago and graduated with a degree in trombone performance. He is a Navy veteran, and has worked as a college instructor, piano tuner, newspaper columnist, Ravinia and opera PR man, and for a time was a trombone player on WGN’s “Bozo’s Circus.” In 2010 he released The Gift, a collection of his stories on CD, accompanied by saxophone. Helen Meier notes, “Jack Zimmerman’s stories are harsh yet lyrical and poetic. They speak to our common humanity and our shared experience.” For more information, see www.jackzimmerman.net.

The Meier Achievement Award

The 2012 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $33,333.33 (which is $25,000 & 33% for income tax).  The Foundation uses nominators.  There is a research phase.  The Board makes the final selection.  There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements.  This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.

Meier Achievement Awardees have won subsequent honors. Among them, 2006 awardee Jim Lasko was Chicago’s 2010 Artist-in-Residence, 2008 awardee Michael Patrick Thornton was cast in a TV series in 2009, becoming the first wheelchair actor to have a love affair written in for him and received a 3Arts award. 2010 awardee Homer Hans Bryant’s Multi-Cultural dance group performed at the White House in 2010. 2010 awardee Terry Karpowicz’ work has been installed at Prudential Plaza for a year. Timeline Theatre received a Tony award and was named best theatre company of the year by Chicago Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. 2011 awardee Nick Sandys has just been named artistic director of Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.

Past Recipients : 

Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre

James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre

Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre

Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder of Chicago Musical Theatre Works

John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist

Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band & Lullaby Project

PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre

Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater

Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center

Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist

Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults

James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records

Terry Karpowicz, sculptor

Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist

Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company

Wesley Kimler, painter

Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer

Nick Sandys, director/actor/fight choreographer, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company