Of the Year Award Winners Announced
The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council is Pleased to Announce
Of the Year Award Winners
Three awards are given each year to recognize artists and arts advocates within our seven-county region who stand out in terms of artistry or volunteerism in the arts. “Of the Year” Award winners were nominated by area residents.
Of the Year Award Winners include:
Artist of the Year Ross Hier
Ross Hier of Crookston will be awarded the Northwest Artist of the Year Award for Visual Arts. A self-taught artist, he is a watercolor painter and works in pen and ink. Nature provides Hier with unlimited subject matter and his painted subjects are wide-ranging. His watercolors have been exhibited at numerous venues in both the Dakotas and Minnesota, including many NWMAC exhibits. He also makes wooden, working duck decoys and other creations. Our Artist of the Year award can be given to any discipline artist including visual, performing, or creative writing who are emerging or at a mid-way point in their artistic endeavors. It is a cash award of $500.
Arts Advocate of the Year Philip McKenzie
Philip McKenzie of Thief River Falls will be awarded the Northwest Arts Advocate of the Year Award. McKenzie is a musician and is active in promoting the arts in our region and statewide. He is the Chair of the Minnesota State Arts Board, an adjunct oboe faculty at both UND and NDSU, and hosts a weekly radio show – Northern Classics on Pioneer 90.1. He was an executive director of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, has served on the board of Thief River Falls Community Theater and Greater Grand Forks Sympathy. He has conducted numerous musicals in Thief River Falls. Our Arts Advocate of the Year award is $500 and includes arts from all disciplines.
Lifetime Achievement NW Star Award Award Winner LaVonne Forsberg
LaVonne Forsberg of Thief River Falls will receive the Northwest Star Award. Forsberg is a Visual Artist known for watercolor paintings and stained glass. For many years, she owned Country Class Arts downtown Thief River Falls, which offered framing services, classes, arts supplies. Forsberg has received awards in past NWMAC exhibits and other statewide exhibits for her art. You can find her stained-glass work throughout our region at 13 churches and at the Carnegie Library in Thief River Falls and her paintings at the University of Minnesota Crookston. She was commissioned by the state of Minnesota to design and paint the Old Mill State Park entrance permit and collector's mug in 200l. This award comes with $5,000. Artists can only receive our Northwest Star Award once as a lifetime achievement award.
These awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 27 in Thief River Falls at Northland Community and Technical College in the cafeteria. Mingling, dessert, and live music begins at 7 pm and the program at 7:30 pm. The event is free of charge and open to everyone. The reception is a wonderful day of celebrating the arts in our region. Please join us!
Funding for Northwest Star and Northwest Artist of the Year comes from The McKnight Foundation. Funding for Northwest Arts Advocate of the Year comes from the Minnesota State Legislature.
