Story last updated at 10/24/2012 - 5:55 pm
Once a year a select few citizens and organizations exemplifying great art and devotion to the humanities are chosen for recognition.
Seven outstanding citizens and organizations from around the state were honored as the 2012 recipients of the Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities. In 2012, we will also recognize and celebrate a new Alaska Writer Laureate who will represent Alaska from 2012 to 2014.
2012 Recipients of the Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities are:
Arts Awards:
• Arts Education: John "Sinnaq" Sinnok, Shishmaref
• Arts Organization: Valley Performing Arts, Wasilla
• Individual Artist: Gail Niebrugge, Palmer
• Native Arts: Susie "Qimmiqsak" Bevins-Ericsen, Anchorage
Distinguished Service to the Humanities:
• Sven Haakanson, Jr., Executive Director Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository, Kodiak
• Carol Swartz; Director Kenai Peninsula College - Kachemak Bay Campus; founding Director Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference, Homer
• Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage
Alaska State Writer Laureate
• Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Juneau
The awards were presented on Thursday, Oct. 18. The awards are sponsored by the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and the Office of the Governor with generous support from ConocoPhillips Alaska and BP.
