STATEWIDE - Congratulations are in order to Susan Cole of Jefferson City, St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, Gladys Goggswell of Frankford, Jill McGuire of St. Louis, and Whitaker Foundation based in St. Louis. They have been selected to receive a prestigious 2005 Missouri Arts Award.

Special honors will be paid to Governor and Mrs. Warren Hearnes of Charleston, Missouri. The Missouri Arts Council (MAC) board voted unanimously to present the Hearnes with the Ruby MAC, a distinctive Missouri Arts Council 40th Anniversary Award.

Governor Matt Blunt and First Lady Melanie Blunt will present awards to the recipients at public ceremony on Wednesday, February 9, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. in the Capitol Building Rotunda, Jefferson City.

Initiated in 1983, the award is Missouri's highest honor to individuals and institutions that have made profound and lasting contributions to the cultural and artistic climate of the state. The award recipient for each category is: Cole, Arts Education; Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants, Arts Organization; Coggswell, Individual Artist; McGuire, Leadership in the Arts; and Whitaker Foundation, Philanthropy.

An outstanding panel of highly respected Missouri citizens who are knowledgeable and experienced in the arts reviewed the Missouri Arts Awards nominations. MAC board member Carolyn Gerdes, of Springfield, served as Chair. Committee members were: Mr. Jeffrey Bentley, Executive Director, Kansas City Ballet, a 2002 Missouri Arts Awards recipient; Ms. Jean Cantwell, former MAC board member 1966-1971, Branson, a 1992 Missouri Arts Awards recipient; Ms. Nancy Kranzberg, former MAC board member 1985-1987, St. Louis, a 2003 Missouri Arts Awards recipient; Ms. Avis May, Community Education Specialist, St. Louis; Mr. Jeff Sandquist, President, Missouri
Music Educators Association, Rolla; Ms. Cathy Smith, President, Grundy County Friends of the Arts, Trenton; and Mr. Hugo Vianello, conductor laureate, Missouri Symphony Society, Columbia. The Missouri Arts Council board approved the committee's recommendations in October.

Each year a Missouri artist is selected to create the awards that are presented to the recipients at the ceremony. Jeff Johnston of Nixa created original works of art for this year's awards. Johnston is a Professor of Art, Head of the Clay and Sculpture Department, and Director of the Boger Gallery at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout. He has exhibited nationally and museums, corporations, and individuals collect his work internationally.

Sam Stang will create a golden ruby glass bowl for the Hearnes' unique award, the Ruby MAC. Stang does strong and intricate work using traditional European glassblowing techniques. His work is available at his studio gallery in Augusta and many galleries nationwide.

A panel of MAC board and staff members selected Field Painting: Green Corn, an oil on canvas by Nora Othic of Brookfield as the image for the 2005 Missouri Arts Awards poster, invitation, and program. [jpg attached] Othic's work was selected from the artwork on display at the 2004 Missouri 50 exhibition, an annual statewide competition at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.

The Missouri Arts Council, the state's grant-making agency for the arts, provides approximately $3 million in assistance to nonprofit organizations throughout Missouri. A division of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Arts Council is the second oldest, state-funded arts agency in the country. The Council was established in 1965 to encourage and stimulate the growth, development and appreciation of the arts in Missouri. The Missouri Arts Council board consists of 15 volunteer citizens from across the state who are appointed by the Governor. The board meets regularly to provide direction in policy making and programmatic oversight.