August 2000 Awards Announcements

Philadelphia Folk and Traditional Artists Receive Awards and Recognition
This summer has been going well, with nine Philadelphia folk and traditional artists receiving what is well-deserved (and in most cases long-overdue) recognition for their contributions to maintaining the cultural heritage of this city's diverse communities. We are lucky to have these artists among us, and proud that prestigious local, regional and national awards are going to acknowledge the artistry, dedication and skill of Frito Bastien, Pablo Batista, Jr., Terrence Cameron, Sheryl Robin David, the Dixie Hummingbirds, Gregory Peache Jarman, Mick Moloney, LaVaughn Robinson, and Elaine Hoffman Watts.

LaVaughn Robinson named Pennsylvania Artist of the Year
On August 18, Philadelphia tap dancer LaVaughn Robinson was named Pennsylvania Artist of the Year. He will receive the Hazlett Memorial Award, one of the annual Governor's Awards for the Arts, on October 4, 2000 at Mishler Theater in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The press release notes that "the recipient of the 2000 Artist of the Year Award, Philadelphia-native LaVaughn Robinson, has been tap dancing for more than five decades. Throughout his career, he opened for Ella Fitzgerald and shared the stage with Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker. In addition to performing at New York's Apollo Theater, Broadway's Palace Theater and the country and the world, Robinson has been a teacher for more than 30 years, 20 which have been spent at the University of the Arts, bringing up a new generation of Philadelphia-style tappers. During the late eighties, he teamed up with his current partner, Germaine Ingraim, and the pair was featured in a PBS special, 'Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America,' and proclaimed the fastest feet in the business. Robinson has been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts with a National Heritage Fellowship and by the Pew Charitable Trusts with a Fellowship for his many contributions to the cultural environment in Philadelphia." Other recipients of this year's Governor's Awards for the Arts are Chaim Potok, Lily Yeh, The Heinz Endowments, and 'Pat' and Vivian Potamkin. For more information, visit http://www.artsnet.org/pca/2000govawards.html

Seven Philadelphia Folk and Traditional Artists Receive $50,000 Pew Fellowships in the Arts
On June 2, 2000, The Pew Fellowships in the Arts, a program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts which grants $50,000 fellowships to Philadelphia area artists annually, announced its 2000 award winners. This year, the first year in which there was a folk arts category, 7 folk and traditional artists (out of 12 total awardees) received grants. Fellowship winners are Frito Bastien (Haitian painter), Pablo Batista, Jr. (Afro-Caribbean percussionist), Terrence Cameron (Trinidadian steel pan maker and musician), Sheryl Robin David (African American fabric arts/crochet), Peache Jarman (Afro-Cuban percussionist), Mick Moloney (Irish musician), and Elaine Hoffman Watts (klezmer percussionist). The PFP provided technical assistance to 6 of the 7 winning artists; more than 600 local artists applied. This means $350,000 invested in local folk arts with a single announcement. For more information, visit http://www.pewarts.org

National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Award to Dixie Hummingbirds
"On May 24, 2000, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the recipients of the 2000 National Heritage Fellowships, the country's most prestigious honor in the folk and traditional arts. Thirteen fellowships, which include a one-time award of $10,000 each, will be presented to artists from nine states and Puerto Rico. One of these awards goes to Philadelphia's own Dixie Hummingbirds, a Grammy Award-winning African-American gospel quartet that has performed continuously for over 70 years. Begun in 1928 as a group of high school students singing a cappella, the 'Birds' would play a major role in gospel music as the grand masters of their style. The group has recorded for the Decca, Apollo, Gotham and Regis labels. Their music influenced popular music artists such as the Temptations, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Shirley Caesar. In 1973, the "Birds" backed up Paul Simon on his hit recording 'Love Me Like a Rock,' and their own version of the song later won them a Grammy. The group was also the subject of the critically acclaimed 1995 film 'We Love You Like a Rock.'" --excerpt from http://www.arts.endow.gov/endownews/news00/HeritageAnnounce.html