The Keene Sentinel and Monadnock Arts Alive have announced the 11 winners for the 2024 Ruth and James Ewing Arts Awards. The 2024 honorees are: 2D Visual Arts : Painter and wildlife conservationist Matt Peterson 3D Visual Arts : Elisabeth Roos, costume, fashion and fiber arts designer and educator Excellence in Interdisciplinary Arts : Jo Dery, an independent filmmaker, visual artist, writer and educator Performing Arts : Paulee Mekdeci, a theater and film-trained drag queen and burlesque artist (Miss Ginger Soulless); and pianist and music educator Christina Wright-Ivanova Presenter of the Arts : The Monadnock international Film Festival (MONIFF) Student Award : Gavin Key, a Keene State College graduate, independent filmmaker and musician Arts Advocate : MAXT Makerspace Executive Director Roy Schlieben Excellence in Community Engagement : Brewbakers Cafe, where co-owners Eliza and Jeff Murphy maintain the Keene coffee shop as an arts hub Lifetime Achievement Award : Alec Doyle, who served as executive director of the Colonial Performing Arts Center for two decades; and Richard Whitney, a portrait and landscape artist, author and educator. These recipients from the Monadnock Region and southeastern Vermont will be featured this summer in a special edition magazine published by The Sentinel as well as in video interviews about them and their work, which will be posted to YouTube.
Named for the late Ruth and James Ewing, former owners of The Sentinel, these awards aim to contin.
