CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2008 Bravos Winners

Excellence in Dance

Suzanne M. Johnston has been involved with dance as a performer, teacher and choreographer all her life. She began her professional career dancing in the “Our Gang” (aka “Little Rascals”) movies. She toured with several well-known ballet companies before going to New York City, performing as a featured Broadway dancer for Jerome Robbins and Agnes DeMille in “Oklahoma,” “High Button Shoes,” Miss Liberty” and “Call Me Madam.” She opened The Suzanne’s School of Classical Ballet in Albuquerque in 1962. In 1972, she founded the New Mexico Ballet Company (NMBC), where she continues to teach today. Through her efforts, world class performers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Melissa Hayden, Natasha Krassovska, Fernando Bujones and Juliet Prowse have performed and taught in our community. Listed in Who’s Who as an “Outstanding American Woman in the West,” Johnston was formerly chairperson of the dance panel for the New Mexico Performing Arts Commission, founded the Suzanne Concert Dancers, the Knoxville Ballet Company in Tennessee and the University of New Mexico (UNM) “Loboettes.” She is currently an Adjunct Professor in the UNM Theater and Dance Department, a staff member for Dance Theatre of the Southwest and the Artistic Advisor/Choreographer for the New Mexico Ballet Company.

Excellence in Music

Michiko Masuda Pierce is a master of the Japanese musical art form called shigin, musical poetry singing. Derived from ancient Chinese poetry, the Japanese adapted the poems (shi) to be sung acapella about 2000 years ago. Contemporary shi often detail Japanese concepts or events within the standard form, and are also sung at Buddhist ceremonies and quasi-religious gatherings in Japan. Pierce began studying shigin in 1974, earned her teaching certificate in the art form in January 1977 and in November 1990 earned Somoto Daihan, the highest degree possible, becoming the head of Shimpuryu Shingyokukai New Mexico Chapter. Over the past 30 years, Shigyokukei Sensei has instructed some 50 students, given countless performances and passed her cultural heritage on to another generation of musicians and poets. An active member of the Albuquerque artistic community, Pierce, at age 79, still regularly performs with her shigin group at area festivals, including Aki Matsuri and the Albuquerque Tricentennial celebration in 2007.

Excellence in Visual Arts

Alan Paine Radebaugh’s solo show "Mass: Of Our World" at the Jonson Gallery of the UNM Art Museum consisted of 36 oil-on-canvas paintings each measuring 50” by 40”. The show, which ran from October 12 to December 22, 2007, took two-and-a-half years to realize. The artist in his statement for the exhibition, wrote, “These organic shapes I see them in everything, the sky, the shadows, and the shadows from the clouds, the clouds themselves, the sides of mountains, and the dirt...” Robert Peters, president of the Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico, wrote, “Members of the CAS, upon visiting this work especially created for the Jonson Gallery…were unanimous in their enthusiasm for the artist’s evocation of the shapes and forms found in natural settings and of his ability to express these relationships and rhythms in purely abstract form on the gallery walls.” Sally Bowler-Hill wrote, “The care Radebaugh took to align the paintings with the gallery space moves it beyond traditional painting into the realm of installation art.” Born in Boston, Radebaugh moved to New Mexico in 1979. He has been working in the arts his entire career and, since 1988, his primary medium has been painting. Radebaugh created the Bravos Awards given to recipients in 2004.

Excellence in Theatre

Salomé Martínez-Lutz, an actor, singer, director and playwright for 37 years, has enriched the Albuquerque theater community with her talents for nearly 19 of those years. She was born and raised in Santa Fe, studied at the College of Santa Fe and received a BA in Theater Education with a minor in Voice and an MA in Theater from UNM. She attended the Juilliard School of Music Graduate Extension Division, debuted at Carnegie Hall, and was a principal singer/actor for five years with the four-time Obie award-winning Repertorio Español. Martínez-Lutz has written three full-length bilingual plays and is working on a fourth, and has served as president of Teatro Nuevo Mexico from its inception. Her direction of the Patty Disney Zarzuela Series at the National Hispanic Cultural Center has been instrumental in reviving this unique art form in the region, in part because she was able to bring Pablo Zinger, a Repertorio Español colleague and renowned master of the zarzuela, to the series as musical director. Directing zarzuelas won her the 2007 New Mexico Hispanic Entertainers award for Best Director Stage Production. Locally, Martínez-Lutz has directed with most of Albuquerque’s theater companies.

Excellence in Literary Arts

Max Evans has had a distinguished career as a novelist, short story writer, essayist and editor. The Western Writers of America recognized him with a lifetime achievement award and voted him among the top dozen western writers of all time. He has been honored by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the State of New Mexico, and the Taos Talking Picture Festival. At 82 years old, Evans recently completed a memoir, For the Love of a Horse, which chronicles his equine friends from his ranching days in New Mexico, as well as pleasure horses of all kinds. Evans has just learned he will receive the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s Western Heritage Award for this latest non-fiction book. His over two dozen books, including Hi Lo Country and The Rounders, both made into feature films, typify his love of writing about the lore of the West. As one nominee stated, “I agree entirely with a piece Tony Hillerman wrote about Max in a special issue of Life Magazine many years ago: ‘If you want to learn about the real West in the 20th century, as opposed to the Hollywood West, you can do no better than to read Max Evans.’ ” Also a recognized painter, Evans continues to contribute to the cultural heritage that is a vital part of New Mexico and the Southwest.

Outstanding Arts Volunteer

Barbara Lohbeck is the Founder and Coordinator of MasterWorks of New Mexico, a month-long juried art show held annually at EXPO New Mexico. This all-volunteer collaboration brings together the Pastel Society of New Mexico, the New Mexico Watercolor Society, the Rio Grande Art Association and Miniature Arts Bardean. This event, celebrating its 10th year in 2008, is a 12-month labor of love for Lohbeck, whose vision and tireless devotion ensures that the exhibit maintains its high quality standards in the works shown and the workshops presented. Lohbeck currently serves as Vice Chair of the Albuquerque City Public Arts Board, and as Chair of the Board for Art in the Schools. She was organizer and chairman of the Book Illustrators Guild of New Mexico (BIG), which annually exhibited published book illustrations by over 40 New Mexico artists, with month-long events. Former owner of the Bardean Gallery and an educator, Lohbeck also served as judge for fine arts shows, and collaborated on programs for teachers through the APS Arts Resource Center and classes for children at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.

Excellence in Arts Education

Albuquerque Museum of Art & History’s Docent Program, which celebrated 40 years in 2007, consists of 257 active docents and 50 emeritus docents who have served a minimum of 10 active years. In FY 2007, docents gave tours to 16,492 students and adults at the Albuquerque Museum, the Museum’s Sculpture Garden and its sister facility Casa San Ysidro, as well as of Old Town Albuquerque, a result of its high quality training in communicating the rich cultural heritage of our community. Docents undergo an intensive two-year training program, and are often the first person the public encounters when they enter the Museum. The group keeps current on new exhibitions through ongoing training and docent generated study groups to further their education. Docents are the backbone of the education department and are ready for whatever comes their way. For the popular Millet to Matisse exhibition, docents donated even more of their time to accommodate increased public requests for tours. They have repeated this for subsequent exhibitions, including the recent Temples and Tombs. The Albuquerque Museum docents have contributed greatly in their tenure to our community’s and our visitors’ understanding of Albuquerque’s unique artistic and cultural heritage.

Outstanding Arts Organization

SouthWest Writers has been helping its member and the public since 1982 to progress in their aspirations to write, whether professionally or for pleasure. Five years ago, SWW was struggling financially. Today, the organization is flourishing after reorganizing its priorities. Since then, its local and out-of-state members have noted the change in the organization’s perspective, and they frequently comment on the “good vibes” existing at its regular meetings. One of the largest and most-respected writing organizations in the country, SWW welcomes writers of all ages, genres and skill levels to its programs, workshops, classes and conferences. It offers several writing conferences each year, bringing in professionals from across the country to teach and engage writers. Writers from as far away as Puerto Rico have used its manuscript critique service. Its international annual writing contest provides cash prizes, and all entrants may receive an optional written critique. Entirely volunteer-run, SWW’s impact on the life of the local (and beyond) writing community is significant and laudatory.

The President's Award

Ann Lerner has been head of the City of Albuquerque’s film office for almost five years. During that time, the film industry has brought in over $200 million in direct spending to the greater Albuquerque area. The mission of the film office is to promote and attract the film industry to Albuquerque, which Ann calls “the best job in the city.” Her duties in keeping Albuquerque “film friendly” include location scouting, production meetings, on-site visits and follow up. Other aspects of the job keep Ann busy with marketing, job training, business recruitment, educational opportunities and community outreach. Ann brings a 20-year background in the film industry to the job as an owner/producer for her own commercial film production company, specializing in TV commercials. She has a Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas and taught special needs children before changing careers. Ann has lived in Corrales since 1977 and currently serves on the APS Foundation Board, CNM Advisory Board and volunteers yearly for Zoo Boo. For many years Ann was a volunteer member of the United Way Creative Team.

Past Bravos Award Winners

- Nomination Form for Bravos 2009 [pdf file]

- Criteria for Nominations [pdf file]