Celebration of Black Writing - Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony & Show

Art Sanctuary's Celebration of Black Writing (CBW) is one of the most prominent African-American literary events in the nation putting the spotlight on black literary, visual and performing arts. The Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony & Show is the festival’s biggest highlight. Our month-long set of activities culminates with what we describe as the “Oscars of Black Writing”. On this night, we will honor three phenomenal contributors to Black literature, art, and community, featuring The Urban Guerilla Orchestra and other special performers.

2015 HONOREES:
Kindred The Family Soul
Gamble and Huff­ Award for Excellence in Songwriting
A dynamic American R&B, soul and neo soul duo, consisting of the married couple of Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon. Kindred emerged from the Philadelphia neo soul movement which included Jill Scott, who discovered them. Since their debut in 2002, they have released five albums.
Barkley L. Hendricks
Inaugural Award for Excellence in Visual Literacy
A Philadelphia native, Hendricks is known for his pioneering contributions to black portraiture and conceptualism. His most well-known work takes the form of life-sized painted oil portraits, depicting a proud, dignified presence upon his subjects, most frequently urban people of color. Hendricks' work is currently on exhibit as a part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Represent exhibit of African American Art.
Jacqueline Woodson
Award for Excellence in Literature
Woodson is best known for Miracle's Boys, which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001 and her Newbery Honor titles After Tupac & D Foster, Feathers and Show Way. Other prestigious literary awards include the Margaret Edwards Award in 2005, and most recently, she won the 2014 National Book Award in the category of "Young People's Literature" for her work, Brown Girl Dreaming and was the U.S. nominee for the biennial Hans Christian Anderson Award
Michael Bolton
Partner of the Year Award
Bolton is Vice President of Community Programs for Opera Philadelphia where he oversees the Opera’s acclaimed student opera appreciation program, Sounds of Learning™, which reaches almost 8,000 students through free performances at the Academy of Music and interactive educational programs in schools. Bolton also oversees Hip H’opera, a collaboration with Art Sanctuary. Begun 2007, the current program engages students from Esperanza Academy Charter School, Mastery Charter School, and South Philadelphia High School in self-expression and learning about the arts. This program will culminate in the creation of a new chamber opera inspired by students’ writings, which will premiere in Spring 2017.
James Claiborne
Volunteer of the Year Award
A native Philadelphian, multidisciplinary artist and arts advocate, James Claiborne has spent well over a decade immersed in the many facets Philadelphia's creative sector.  After spending several years advocating on behalf of the region's art sector with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, James became the editor of Visit Philadelphia's innovative tourism website Philly360.com, which highlights Philadelphia's booming urban creative scene through the lens of music, design and culture. As a board member of Art Sanctuary, James Claiborne has visioned and helped the organization implement a series of family programs, including Art Sanctuary's gallery program, which to-date has featured the work of luminary artists, including James Dupree, Barkley Hendricks and Ruth Naomi Floyd, to name a few.

Performance in Lew Klein Hall
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