BIAHC ANNOUNCES ISLAND TREASURE AWARDS 2008 WINNERS AND CEREMONY/BANQUET AT ISLANDWOOD:

SUMMARY:

The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council announces the 2008 Island Treasure Award winners recipients: Artist and Sculptor Kristin Tollefson and Wilkes Elementary School Third Grade Teacher Alice Mendoza.

In its eighth year, the Island Treasure award honors excellence in the arts and/or humanities, and is presented annually to two individuals judged “Island Treasures” by the Bainbridge Island Community. The Island Treasure selection process is modeled after the MacArthur Foundation’s Genius Fellowship Award, and is designed to preserve the anonymity of nominators, jurists, and recipients.

The awards will be presented to Tollefson and Mendoza on Saturday, February 23, 2008, 5pm at Islandwood. The event includes a special reception, ceremony, and banquet to honor their contributions to our community’s cultural life. Tickets: $10 for reception/ awards ceremony, $50 reception/ceremony/banquet, $100 patron. For ticket and event information, please contact BIAHC: 206.842.7901.

Island Treasure Award:

Created in 1999, this special award honors excellence in the arts and/or humanities, and is presented annually to two individuals judged Island Treasures by the Bainbridge Island Community. Candidates for the award have lived on Bainbridge Island for at least three years and have displayed an ongoing commitment to their chosen field.

The Island Treasure selection process was modeled after the MacArthur Fellows Program. Ten nominators chosen from a pool recommended by the Arts and Humanities Council each identified one or two outstanding candidates. Candidates' names and descriptions of accomplishments were then submitted to a five member jury comprised of individuals drawn from every aspect of the Bainbridge Island community to ensure representation of a wide range of experience. The names of the two award recipients were then approved by the BIAHC Board. Complete anonymity of nominators, jurists and recipients was maintained throughout the process.

The Island Treasure Awards are designed to provide a cash prize of $3,000 and community recognition for the ongoing contributions of the recipients. The design for the Island Treasure award was created by Island artist, Kent Van Slyke.

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PROFILES:

Kristin Tollefson is a sculptor and artist whose “commitment to her art has been evident in many venues both on and off the island.” She brings a “quiet strength and sense of beauty to her work and to the community” (as described by an anonymous nominator). Tollefson works predominately with her hands and uses steel rod and wire, creating pieces that range from jewelry-size to large scale public artworks.

Tollefson, who grew up on Bainbridge Island, has an MFA in Metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. She lived and studied extensively in Iceland on sponsored study, which has influenced her artwork. Tollefson’s work has been exhibited both locally and internationally.

Kristin is not only a successful sculptor but also a serious art educator and curator. She has contributed to Island cultural life in many ways, including teaching through Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, the Park and Recreation Department, the City of Bainbridge Island’s Public Art Program, and the Bainbridge Branch Library. She was Director of Education at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, and prior to that taught at The Attleboro Museum in Massachusetts and for The Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education program, among other places.

Another nominator described Tollefson’s work as speaking of “silence, precision, poetry, and finesse…her complex techniques give way to simple forms… quietly echoes the flora of the Bloedel Reserve” (next-door to the house where Tollefson grew up).

Alice Mendoza began teaching third grade at Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary School 17 years ago. Her class motto is “Kids Can Make a Difference.” For the past 14 years, Mendoza has inspired her classes to create and sell calendars with the proceeds going to help people in need, including hurricane relief and donations to the Nicaraguan island Ometepe.

Mendoza “educates her students by drawing out their creative abilities, teaching about their island environment, helping them to learn about the problems of the world, and guiding them towards understanding and finding ways to help others…” (as described by an anonymous nominator). She uses visual and performing arts throughout her curriculum.

Each year Mendoza’s class does an extended study of  local maritime industry, which includes fieldtrips to Korean Hanjin ships and other vessels. The class does a “Working Harbor Culmination” in which parents and students celebrate by bringing ships that students have researched and created, singing sea chanteys, dancing a Sailor’s Hornpipe.

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