Nominees announced for ‘Art Star Awards’

The Laguna Beach Alliance for the Arts has announced nominations for its first-ever “Art Star Awards,” to be held on March 21 at [seven-degrees].

“Art Star Awards” will be given to organizations, businesses and individuals who have contributed to and shaped the arts and culture of the community and the county.

Alliance for the Arts members from more than 20 Laguna Beach art organizations submitted nominees in five categories.

Each of the five categories and their nominees are as follows:

The winner from each category will be announced during the “Art Star Awards” event, where they will be presented with a custom-designed award made of bronze and mounted on Italian marble, created by Laguna Beach exhibiting artist Louis Longi.

Longi designed the bench located near the Inn at Laguna and is an exhibitor at Diane DeBilzan Gallery.

The featured keynote speaker during the “Art Star Awards” will be Robert L. Lynch, president and chief executive of Americans for the Arts, the national organization dedicated to making the arts more accessible.

Lynch was executive director of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies for 12 years, and managed the successful merger of that organization with the American Council for the Arts to form Americans for the Arts in 1996.

In 2005, he oversaw the merger of the national Arts and Business Council into Americans for the Arts and created the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.

Under his leadership, the services and membership of Americans for the Arts have grown by 4,000% over the last 20 years.

The Laguna Beach Alliance for the Arts, formed in January 2002, was created as the result of a partnership among more than 20 Laguna Beach-based organizations.

The 2006-2007 board of directors is: Chairman, Bolton Colburn, executive director of the Laguna Art Museum; Vice Chair, Pat Kollenda; Secretary, Cindy Prewitt of Laguna Beach Live!; and Treasurer, Nancy Beverage.

Its mission is to promote collaboration and networking among the art organizations of Laguna Beach and to serve as a united voice for the arts in this city.

Members of the Alliance for the Arts include the Laguna College of Art & Design, Art-A-Fair Festival, the Chamber of Commerce, Civic Arts District, Community Art Project, Festival of Arts, First Thursday’s Art Walk, Gallimaufry Performing Arts, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach Craft Guild, Laguna Community Concert Band, Laguna Beach Film Festival, Laguna Tunes, Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau, Laguna Live!, Laguna Outreach Community Arts, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Plein Air Association, No Square Theater, Pageant of the Masters, CaDance, Sawdust Art Festival, and [seven-degrees].

For more information, visit www.lagunabeacharts.org.