Grants:Arts Commentary Award Recipients


John Diliberto received a Project Award for a series of radio commentaries on electronic music.

Arts Commentary award recipients have a strong ability to communicate ideas and information deftly and creatively to members of the broad general public, especially those new to the arts. Their projects demonstrate a strong commitment to expanding participation in the arts. Award recipients are chosen by a jury of nationally recognized experts. Jurors are from out of state and represent diverse types of arts commentators.

2006-2007 Awards

  • Vicky Clark (Allegheny County)
    Project Title: The Infinity Slap: Contemporary Art Faces Death

    Death is ultimately unknowable. The way we face death, or "the infinity slap" as novelist Jeanette Winterson labeled it, reveals our beliefs about what it means to be human. Curator, writer and educator Vicky Clark received funding for an essay about the representation of death in contemporary art and culture. The essay will appear in conjunction with an exhibition at Indiana University's Kipp Gallery.

  • John Diliberto (Chester County)
    Project Title: Echoes from the Edge of Sound

    When Max Matthews of Bell Laboratories created computer music in 1957, he proclaimed that one day, everyone would be able to make their own music. We are in the midst of a full-blown global music culture, fused by technology and spirituality, exploration and experimentation. Music journalist and award-winning radio producer John Diliberto received funding for a series of radio commentaries about electronic music—to air on radio stations nationwide.

  • Drake Gomez (Lackawanna County)
    Project Title: The Latino Project

    Immigration issues are at the forefront of political debate in the U.S. Keystone College professor Drake Gomez received funding for the writing and production of a catalog that will accompany a photography exhibit by Scranton artist Rolfe Ross. The exhibit will focus on the rapidly growing Latino community in northeast Pennsylvania.

  • Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou (Bucks County)
    Project Title: Kids Making Music: A Global Perspective

    How do children around the world make music? What instruments do they use and how? Is music used for teaching new skills, group bonding or other purposes? Musician, educator and ethnomusicologist Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou received funding for research on how music can enrich the elementary education experience. The project will include the creation of workbooks for teachers and assemblies for elementary schools.

  • Jason Peifer (Philadelphia County)
    Project Title: Behind the Scenes

    Arts reporter and radio producer Jason Peifer received funding for the creation of radio features that will provide an in-depth, behind the scenes look at how theatre productions are inspired, created and presented. This ten-part series, to air on WRTI-FM, will explore the many elements that are required to mount a show and will provide insight into the theater for the uninitiated.

  • Samuel Reed III and Mpho Reed (Philadelphia County)
    Project Title: We Wear the Mask: Visual Arts and Literacy Project

    The exploration of masks can serve as a search for identity. Samuel Reed and Mpho Reed received funding for a project with students at Beeber Middle School. The project will document students' analyses of masks as metaphor in the visual arts and literature. The project will culminate in an interactive video, a website for educators and a multi-media installation of student artwork and poems.

  • Aleta Yarrow (Tioga County)
    Project Title: N/A

    How does art enhance thinking in the young child? What makes early childhood art unique and significant? What is the role of the arts in American education—particularly the impact of the arts on rural areas? Aleta Yarrow received funding for the research and development of multi-media presentations about the significance of children's art which will be presented to early childhood educators.
2006-2007 Jurors
  • E-K Daufin (Alabama)
    Theater, dance, music and spoken word artist. Professor of communications media at Alabama State University.
  • Gwylene Gallimard (South Carolina)
    Community artist, writer and activist.
  • Ashley James (California)
    Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Currently Station Manager at KTOP Cable Channel 10 in Oakland, CA.
  • Orlando Lima (New York)
    Editor-at-Large for Vibe Magazine (formerly Executive Editor). Also educator and web entrepreneur.
Past Arts Commentary Award Recipients and Jurors

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