→ print this page | email this page
Award Recipients
Awards 2010 Honorees
Meet the stars who are performing extraordinary feats for the arts. They shared their expertise and resources to achieve big results that truly inspire us all.
Anne d'Harnoncourt Award for Artistic Excellence
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
Founding Principals, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates
They are architects, planners, theorists, writers, teachers and artists. From their firm on Main Street, Manayunk, they have influenced architects worldwide with controversial thinking and rule-breaking design.
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown have sought to broaden our view of the built world, helping us understand and contribute to it via a rich mix of ideas on pluralism and multiculturalism, symbolism and iconography, popular culture and the everyday landscape, generic building and electronic communication. With their ability to link things in multi-disciplinary combinations and to think as theorists grounded in the history of architecture, they have pioneered design and research that redefine the limits of contemporary architecture.
Notable among their works for civic and cultural institutions are the Mielparque resort in Nikko Kirifuri National Park, Japan; the provincial capitol building of the Haute-Garonne, Toulouse, France; the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery, London; additions to San Diego’s Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Seattle Art Museum. They have designed and constructed buildings and campuses for universities and colleges throughout America, and locally have completed Friends Neighborhood Guild, the ISI Building, major expansions to the University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley Hospital, a chapel for the Episcopal Academy and a small house in Chestnut Hill for Bob’s mother, which is credited with turning around the culture of architecture. In construction now is a new facility for the Curtis Institute of Music on Locust Street.
Between them, Bob and Denise have taught at, among others, the Universities of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley and UCLA. They have lectured in Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East. But their primary work is making architecture and urbanism, and it was for artistry in this sphere that Bob received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Denise the Vilcek Award and they were jointly awarded the Presidential National Medal of Arts and the Philadelphia Award. VSBA has earned over 140 major design awards, including the AIA’s Architectural Firm Award and, in 1989, its 25 Year Award for the enduring significance of Philadelphia’s Vanna Venturi House.
Presented by: Cozen O'Connor
Business and Arts Partnership Awards
The Business and Arts Partnership Awards recognize successful partnerships between business and arts or cultural organizations. Awards are presented in two categories:
Business and Arts Partnership Award: Mid-Size to Large Business with an Arts and Cultural Organization
PECO & The African American Museum in Philadelphia
PECO, a long-standing partner of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, stepped up its support in February of 2007 with a major donation to fund a new core exhibit, along with improvements to the museum allowing for the display of rotating exhibits that connect the past to current issues and themes. But PECO's support went way beyond a financial arrangement. Between 2007 and 2009, employees of PECO have worked in tandem with AAMP staff in areas of fundraising, event planning, and media relations to help ensure the success of the grand opening of "Audacious Freedom", which opened to critical acclaim. PECO's President & CEO, Denis O'Brien, took a leadership role in campaign fundraising which totaled more than $1.8 million. Due in partial part to PECO's support, AAMP has been revitalized as a cultural "community center" for the African American Community. For PECO, this partnership has provided an opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and strengthen relationships int he African American community.
Presented by: KPMG LLP
Business and Arts Partnership Award: Small Business with an Arts and Cultural Organization
Calfayan Construction Associates & Abington Art Center
In summer of 2009, Abington Art Center and the Little Abington Meeting House Restoration Committee collaborated with Calfayan Construction on "a good old fashioned barn raising". The goal for this project was to construct an outbuilding near the 1836 Quaker Meetinghouse that sits on the Art Center's grounds. The Calfayan team saw the benefit (and fun!) in collaborating on this pro-bono project, and provided guidance, consultation, construction expertise, volunteer labor, equipment and project management resources. The partnership between Abington Art Center and Calfayan Construction exemplifies the spirit of cooperation between business and the arts that can happen in a recession. Their collective work and effort has resulted in the newly restored meetinghouse and outbuilding complementing each other and making it a viable public space and a new art venue for the community.
Presented by:
G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Individual Leadership Award
The G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Individual Leadership Award recognizes an individual, business or civic leader who has greatly contributed to one or more arts or cultural organizations in the region, exhibited dedication above and beyond their professional responsibilities and made a measurable impact on the region's cultural landscape.
Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer
The global opera audience has grown more than any of the other performing arts in large part due to an imaginative idea made possible through a generous grant from The Neubauer Family Foundation. Opera is now broadcast live in high definition from The Met to neighborhood movie theaters in 44 countries.
The program is what Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer call “game changing, transformative,” bringing artistic excellence to a greater number of people. That’s an important principle for the Neubauers and a primary reason for their support of arts and cultural organizations, especially those with a track record of responsible implementation of vision.
One recipient of their generous support is the Philadelphia Orchestra. Recently they commissioned a new work by a young American composer in honor of Ben Franklin’s 300th birthday. The Neubauers also support eZseatU, which offers subscription concerts at a reduced price to Philadelphia college students.
Similarly, the Neubauers support the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Last fall, Joe and Jeanette joined others in sponsoring a landmark exhibition of Arshile Gorky. They also have established a chair of conservation and were among the leaders who kept Thomas Eakins’ “The Gross Clinic” in Philadelphia, an effort the museum helped launch.
A key champion of the Barnes Foundation’s move to the Parkway, Joe has worked tirelessly to make Dr. Barnes’ world-class collection accessible to everyone.
Deciding together which arts organizations have both a tradition of excellence and a track record of successfully executing against plan, Jeanette and Joe have stepped forward to fund initiatives for a number of other Philadelphia arts groups.
Jeanette and Joe Neubauer are in the forefront of regional leaders dedicated to artistic vision and excellence. Joe has received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, has been inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and currently serves as its chairman.
Presented by:
Business Volunteer Awards
The awards for Arts & Business Council Volunteers of the Year recognize outstanding contributions of active business volunteers in four Council programs:
Business On Call Volunteer of the Year Award
John (Jack) Pollock, Promotional Regulatory Affairs Manager, Astra Zeneca
Jack Pollock leads the Business On Call program by example as he is an enthusiastic volunteer. As a company co-captain, he acts as a liaison to the Arts & Business Council at AztraZeneca and helps to ensure open and active communication between the Council staff and AstraZeneca’s Business On Call volunteers. He has donated 569 hours since 2004; an enormous amount of continued dedication to the Business On Call program. He volunteers for a number of organizations including Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Delaware County Symphony, Hagley Museum & Library, and Tyler Arboretum.
Presented by:
Business On Board Member of the Year Award
Jerilyn Dressler, Associate, Your Part-Time Controller LLC
Art-Reach is an organization that enriches lives by connecting underserved audiences with cultural experiences so they may enjoy and benefit from the transformative powers of the arts. Since 2007, Jerilyn Dressler has been an integral component of this organization. She has worked with the Art-Reach staff to improve financial processes and controls, and in 2008 became the organization’s treasurer. Jerilyn has provided a significant amount of pro-bono and hands-on work for Art-Reach that is not typical of many board members. Jerilyn attends events, helps find new human services partners, participates on the annual fundraising committee and reconciles their bank statements each month. She has demonstrated a high level of commitment to the work of this organization. In her first 15 months of board service alone, Jerilyn averaged ten hours of volunteer time per month.
Presented by:
BVA Volunteer of the Year Award
Carolyn Ashburn, SPHR, Manager, Employee Relations and Compliance, Temple University Health System
Theatre Horizon’s two artistic directors, Matthew Decker and Erin Reilly, came to the Council overwhelmed and understaffed, challenged with how to manage their company while keeping up with its growing artistic success. With a strong background in human resources and operations, Carolyn worked closely with Erin, Matt and the staff to streamline workflow processes which resulted in better staff communication and efficiency. She also coached Matt and Erin (the two artistic directors) in their evolving roles as arts managers, helping them to become more effective leaders. Carolyn’s guidance and support was transformational for Theatre Horizon and is likely to have a sustained impact on the company and its staff. They were even able to move into new space at the Montgomery County Cultural Center in Norristown -- a huge leap for a small company.
Presented by:
Technology Connectors Volunteer of the Year Award
Stan Coplan, User Exerience Designer and Human Factors Engineer, Aetna
Stan Coplan is an expert at researching, recommending, and implementing technology solutions with the goal of sustainability always in mind. He provided such support to the Philadelphia Singers, the International Opera Theater, and to the Philadelphia Folk Song Society, be it enabling easier website updates or allowing for more interactive online experiences for their audiences. Stan is a particularly valuable volunteer as he is full of new ideas, always willing to collaborate and share his work for the benefit of other volunteers and arts organizations. To date, Stan has donated 34.5 hours collectively to these different projects.
Presented by:
PVLA Volunteer of the Year Award
Jeffrey Bates, Esq., Shareholder, Marhsall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin
Jeffrey Bates has been a PVLA volunteer since 1991. In the last two years alone, he has been matched with and aided eight clients and one arts organization. Jeff specializes in advising on litigation matters, and was able to help his clients by demystifying the legal process as well as providing next steps. Jeff worked with Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater, a nonprofit arts organization, to help resolve a dispute related to student tuition fees. He went above and beyond his expected involvement and attended court at the organizations side. Elliot Savoy-Bey is a musician whose instruments were destroyed while in an airline’s custody. Jeff saw the clear and simple side of this insurance dispute, and was able to recover in full for his client. Jeff continues to provide legal support to local artists with regards to lost or damaged art work, agent relationships, collecting on work for hire contracts, compensation for fraud, and general litigation.
Presented by:
