Santa Monica Arts Foundation Announces 2016 Arts Leadership Awardees
February 23, 2016 12:00 AM
The Santa Monica Arts Foundation held its fourth annual awards ceremony at Typhoon restaurant on Thursday, February 18, 2016. The awards recognize local leaders whose efforts support Santa Monica’s artistic, creative, and cultural community, making the City an exceptionally vibrant place to live. Mayor Pro Tem Ted Winterer presented awards to three honorees:
Fred Deni won recognition as Arts Patron for his generous assistance to the City’s nonprofit arts organizations and its artists, sustained over a period of decades. He has also provided important community leadership in his role on the City’s Civic Working Group. A community treasure, Fred’s love of art has guided him through his career as a successful restaurateur, actor and philanthropist.
Painter Malissa Shriver Feruzzi received the Creative Community Innovator award for her help bringing the arts back to our schools and back into national consciousness. Her significant accomplishments both locally and nationally have won her many honors, including the 2014 Arts Education Award from Americans for the Arts. Malissa served for four years as Chair of the California Arts Council, and is currently the Executive Director of Turnaround Arts California, an affiliate of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
George Small was presented with the Artist in the Community/Bruria Finkel Award. For forty years, George has been teaching and mentoring the artists of Santa Monica. George founded the nonprofit TAG Gallery in 1993 and then opened an art studio where, for more than two decades, he held classes in figure drawing and painting. A local legend, George has been described as a “gentle guide” who recognized the individualism of countless students and encouraged their studies in art.
The Mayor presented the honorees with certificates as well as an original artwork by two renowned Santa Monica artists: Mimi Haddon and Bruria Finkel.
Senator Ben Allen came down from Sacramento to present the honorees with additional Certificates of Recognition, as did staff from State Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s office, lifting the reach of the awards from the city to the state level.
Nominations are collected year round for the Arts Leadership Awards by any Santa Monican who wishes to participate. A committee of Foundation board members and representatives of the local arts community meet annually to review the nominations and make the final selections based on the award guidelines. More information and nomination forms can be found on www.smgov.net/artsleaders.
More on the Honorees
Fred Deni – Arts Patron Award
For more than 30 years, Fred Deni has been known in Santa Monica for his generous assistance to the City’s artists and nonprofit arts organizations. He has produced plays in which all proceeds go to Santa Monica charities, and he was vital to the formation of the Ruskin Group Theatre, where he’s a founding board member. Fred advocated for the company’s lease at the Santa Monica Airport and helped the Ruskin stay in Santa Monica. For 12 years, his restaurant Back on Broadway has provided gallery space where local artists can exhibit – and keep 100% of their sales. Fred has also provided critical community leadership as a member of the City’s Civic Working Group, which recently made recommendations to City Council on the future of the Civic Auditorium. Fred’s involvement in the arts began at a young age. He started out as an actor, performing on Broadway in the original King & I. A community treasure, Fred’s love of art has guided him through his career as a successful restaurateur, actor and philanthropist.
Malissa Feruzzi Shriver – Artist in the Community/Bruria Finkel Award
Painter Malissa Feruzzi Shriver is one of the leading arts education advocates in the U.S. Her significant accomplishments bringing the arts back into our education systems – and into the national consciousness – won her the 2014 Arts Education Award from Americans for the Arts.
Malissa is the Executive Director of Turnaround Arts California, an affiliate of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities chaired by First Lady Michelle Obama. In 2005, Malissa was appointed to the California Arts Council where she served as chair for four years. She is a Co-Founder of CREATE CA, a statewide coalition working to restore arts education to public schools. Malissa served as co-chair of the California Task Force on Creative Education, and was the first Vice President of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. She sat on the boards of the Western States Arts Federation and the California Alliance for Arts Education Policy, is currently on the advisory boards of GET LIT and the Center for Research on Creativity. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of CalArts.
George Small – Creative Community Innovator Award
For forty years, George Small has been teaching and mentoring the artists of our community with a combination of broad knowledge and artistic talent that mark him as a Renaissance man. George founded the TAG Gallery in 1993, a nonprofit corporation owned by its members. It’s both a physical gallery and a community of approximately forty artists, and it still flourishes today at Bergamot Station. George then opened up his own art studio on Ocean Park Blvd. where, for more than two decades, he held classes in figure drawing and painting. A local legend, George has been described as a “gentle guide” who recognized the individualism of countless students and encouraged their studies in art. His own artwork appears in many collections, including that of community activists Betty and Stanley Sheinbaum. At 95, Betty continues to study with him and says his class is the highlight of her week!
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High-res images available upon request
Media Contact
Jessica Cusick
jessica.cusick@smgov.net