The New England Foundation for the Arts recognized Silvia López Chavez and Kate Gilbert with the Newell Flather Awards for Leadership in Public Art on March 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel. (Image courtesy of Anqi Zhang.)
“This is a very special evening and I’m thrilled to celebrate with all of you. NEFA acknowledges that the ground on which we are celebrating is the traditional lands of the Massachusetts.” said Ann Smith, New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) board chairwoman. “We honor their ancestors, past, present and future, and recognize their continued existence and contributions to our society.”
Smith delivered the theme of the cocktail reception “Celebration of Leadership,“ hosted by NEFA on March 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel. Artists, philanthropy leaders and staff from NEFA gathered to honor arts leaders Larry Simpson and Newell Flather, celebrate the launch of the New Work New England program and recognize the first recipients of the Newell Flather Award for Leadership in Public Art.
Simpson is senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Berklee College of Music, and serves on the NEFA board of directors. During his tenure in Berklee, the college created partnerships with more than 40 institutions and organizations globally.
In Simpson’s acceptance speech, he described receiving NEFA’s honor as taking “a long drink of water in the struggle for lifting the arts and seeking social justice.” With the water, “tomorrow, we return to our tasks with renewed vigor, even more committed to lifting the arts and seeking social justice,” he said.
Flather was the other honoree of the evening. He has been a leader in the field of philanthropy for more than 40 years, and was instrumental in bringing the Fund for the Arts to the NEFA. He developed the idea for and co-founded GMA Foundations, a philanthropic services company.
One of Flather’s friends, painter Robert Freeman, recalled their reunion after first meeting 20 years ago. Flather recognized Freeman, who was unknown at the time, at an event, and their friendship has grown since. Flather went to Freeman’s first art exhibition and bought his work, for which he built an extension of his home to fit the large-scale painting.
“He represents the values we struggle to maintain during these dark days, the values of caring about others and enjoying beauty,” Freeman said of Flather. “He is a man of the highest principles, and his commitment to others is unsurpassed.”
The Newell Flather Leadership in Public Art Award welcomed its first two recipients – Silvia López Chavez, interdisciplinary artist and Kate Gilbert, curator and executive director of Now and There. The annual award will give each recipient a $5,000 of unrestricted funds to acknowledge an artist or curator whose leadership in public art has made an impact on the quality of life in Boston’s communities.
New Work New England is an opportunity for New England’s artists in dance, film, interdisciplinary work, media, music and other art forms. It will provide grants of $7,500 to $15,000 to support the creation and production of new work that has the potential to engage multiple New England communities. The first deadline is June 24.
