Local arts advocate Ginger Poole, the Taubman Museum of Art, and the Roanoke Women’s Foundation have been honored with this year’s Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Awards.
The awards were presented during a ceremony at Hollins University on September 14.
Co-sponsored by Hollins University and Roanoke College, the Kendig Awards program has recognized distinction in arts and culture in the Roanoke Valley for more than 30 years. Awards are presented in each of the following categories: Individual Artist, Arts and Cultural Organization, and Individual or Business Arts Supporter.
Poole is this year’s Individual Artist award recipient. Her dedicated work as an actor, choreographer, director, educator, and collaborator has helped reinvent Mill Mountain Theatre and ensure its continued vibrancy as a professional regional theatre. She is also an active volunteer in her community through her service on the boards of the Burton Center of Performing Arts and the Virginia Commission of the Arts Review Panel.
The Taubman Museum of Art received the Kendig Award in the Arts and Cultural Organization category. With a vision to “inspire new perspectives” and a mission to “bring people and art together for discovery, learning, and enjoyment,” the Taubman is “committed to exhibitions, programs, and experiences that inspire, enrich, and promote creativity in all walks of life and in business.” The Taubman has helped expand the rich culture of the Roanoke region through innovative use of exhibition spaces, collaborations with other nonprofits in the area, and an array of events and programming.
The Kendig Award in the Individual or Business Arts Supporter category was presented to the Roanoke Women’s Foundation. Over its first 11 years of philanthropy, the Foundation has granted nearly $2.5 million to arts and cultural organizations such as Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke Children’s Theatre, the Jefferson Center Music Lab, the Grandin Theatre Foundation, and WVTF Radio, among others. This funding has enabled these organizations to update equipment, expand programming, and improve outreach and availability of arts and cultural opportunities in the community.
Named for the late Perry F. Kendig, who served as president of Roanoke College and was an avid supporter and patron of the arts, the Kendig Awards program was established in 1985 and presented annually by the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge through 2012. Hollins and Roanoke College first partnered the following year to bestow the honors, and congratulate the 2016 winners.
