NEW CANAAN, CT, June 6, 2017— Accepting his Living Art Award at the Roton Point Club in May, David Dunlop, Emmy-award winning artist (for his PBS series Landscapes Through Time), long-time faculty member at the Silvermine School of Art, and recipient of the 2017 Living Art Award, recently spoke about Silvermine’s place in his life. “I believe not only in the mission, but the feeling of community that is here. This is my family, this is my social life, this is how I define myself…. People come here not just to learn to paint; they come here because of the community that is here.”
Dunlop was joined by Ann Weiner of Westport who received the Legacy Award for her philanthropy and lifetime dedication to Silvermine. She and her late husband Sid sponsored the Bill Sessions Woodworking Center, which has been up and running with woodworking and sculpture classes for more than a year. She also served on the Board of Directors and authored a book on Silvermine’s history for the 90th anniversary. Commenting on her Legacy Award, Weiner emphasized the role of the arts over a lifetime. “It’s this understanding and personal experience of how vitally important art is to our survival and to our quality of life that has made me and my late husband so motivated to support the arts in every way possible.”
Alberta Cifolelli, also of Westport, and Bonnie Woit of New York City each received a Guild of Artist Award. Woit founded and served as the first director of the Silvermine’s Institute for Visual Artists, and Cifolelli directed the IVA throughout the 1990s. Cifolelli summed up her feelings about the Silvermine community in four words: “Art belongs to everyone.”
The 95-year-old Silvermine Arts Center, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, has 300 Guild Artist Members, a School of Art with 4,500 enrollments, 5 galleries hosting more than 12,000 visitors annually and an Outreach Education program serving 1,000 students in under-resourced Stamford and Norwalk schools. Proceeds from this event provide funding for Silvermine Arts Center’s exceptional educational programs on site and through outreach; for its exhibitions and collections in the gallery; and for capital improvements for a facility that is nearing its centenary.
Benefit committee chairs for 2017 include artists Mindy Green, Kerry Brock, Stephanie Joyce, and Faye Mylen. Silvermine Arts Center is grateful to its Benefit sponsors whose generous donations made the event possible: Brooks & Falotico; Carta, McAlister & Moore; Costless Wine; Diageo; Frederic Fekkai; David Harvey Jewelers; Hearst; LQR MKT; Gil and Ann Maurer; Moffly Media; Jerry and Katherine Poch; the Roton Point Club; Stella Artois; and Walter Stewart’s Market.