March 3, 2021 via Zoom
6:00 p.m.
Le Moyne College's Impact Awards celebrate those who work behind the scenes to produce, present, curate and/or teach the arts. These awards focus on recognizing the leaders, managers, teachers and community leaders who help to ensure art makes it to the eyes and ears of the communities they serve.
This year's keynote speaker will be Aaron Dworkin, 2005 MacArthur Fellow and President Obama’s first appointment to the National Council on the Arts. To learn more about our guest, please click here.
2021 Award Recipients
The 2021 selection committee had the difficult task of choosing only one recipient in each category, and we had an incredible pool of talented managers, board members, and teachers to learn about and discuss. The committee would like to congratulate the 2021 Impact Award Recipients!
| Award Category |
Winner |
| Arts Manager of the Year |
Samara Hannah
Executive Director
Redhouse Arts Center |
| Arts Board Member of the Year |
Michael Feng
Board Vice President
Symphoria |
| Artist as Manager |
Kyle Bass
Associate Artistic Director
Syracuse Stage |
| Arts Educator of the Year |
Michelle Combs
General Music Teacher
Homer Elementary School |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Sayward Schoonmaker
Artistic Director
Stone Quarry Hill Art Park |
2021 Selection Committee:
Elisa Dekaney, Associate Dean, SU College of Visual and Performing Arts
Dashiell Elliott, Program Officer, Central New York Community Foundation
Mark Golden, CEO and Co-founder, Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
Bea Gonzalez, Trustee, Syracuse Stage
Carol Terry, Arts Consultant
Award Categories
- Arts Manager of the Year - For an arts and culture administrator who has guided their organization with exceptional skill.
- Arts Board Member of the Year - For a member of the board of directors of an arts and culture organization who has provided exceptional service and leadership.
- Newcomer of the Year - For an arts administrator who is new to the region and has made a positive impact in a short period of time.
- Artist as Manager - For a practicing visual or performing artist who also works as an arts manager.
- Arts Educator of the Year - For a K-12 arts educator who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to their students and community.
2021 Nominations are now closed.
Award Eligibility:
Arts managers, board members, and educators must work within the New York State counties of Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga or Oswego.
For the purposes of these awards, arts managers (also known as arts administrators) are defined as those who provide today’s artists with the framework, resources, and support that they need in order to create works of art. Such work may be done within an organization, through an artist collective, as individuals in the community, or in any context that provides support to artists.
If working within an organization, arts managers in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors are eligible to be nominated for the Arts Manager of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Artist as Manager awards.
Community Partner:
Questions on this program may be directed to: Travis Newton, Associate Professor newtontm@lemoyne.edu