Muse Awards for 2011 sizzled with cultural variety
By Rebecca Coleman
The Palm Beach County Cultural Council’s 2011 Muse Awards was a “Culture out of the Box” celebration recently experienced by 400 enthusiastic supporters.
The annual cultural excellence awards ceremony honored eight award recipients during a gala dinner and awards program that included performances, a fashion show and presentations that illustrated the many ways arts and culture impact society every day.
Jeff and Gina Sabean with Michael Bracci
The 2011 Muse Award recipients that were celebrated are:
Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival – Excellence in Historical and Cultural Heritage
VSA Florida-Palm Beach County – Excellence in Arts and Cultural Outreach
Center for Creative Education – Excellence in Arts Integrated Education
Festival of the Arts Boca – Outstanding Festival
Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens – Outstanding Collaboration
Melvin and Claire Levine – Outstanding Philanthropist
Shawn Berry – Clyde Fyfe Award for Performing Artists
MLK Jr., Coordinating Committee – The Council’s Choice Award
The evening began with cocktails in the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion, which featured a huge mirrored box in middle of the lobby. The crowd moved to the ballroom for dinner and was treated to a video demonstrating the artistry that the Breakers pastry chefs used to create the elegantly presented Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse Tower with Raspberry Sorbet dessert.
Tony-Award winning actor, Gary Beach, began the performance leg of the evening with a rousing rendition of “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast.”
Craig Grant, regional president of PNC Bank for Florida, then took the stage with a surprise announcement: PNC Bank was granting the Cultural Council $200,000 for its new SmARTBiz program (details: http://tinyurl.com/46lb7gn).
Then, models sashayed across the stage in a “Fashion as Art” retrospective highlighting trends from the 1920s to the present. This was followed by entertainment, including a performance of “Derezzed” from the movie, “Tron” featuring video created by Digital Domain Holdings.
“The 2011 Muse Awards was truly a team effort,” says Rena Blades, President and CEO of the Cultural Council. “Our co-chairs, staff, producer and designer worked tirelessly to bring so many elements from numerous sections of our community together for this spectacular show and tribute to the Muse Awards recipients.”
The Muse Awards co-chairs were Irene Karp and Jean Sharf. Honorary chairs were Mr. and Mrs. Alexander W. Dreyfoos. The honorary committee included over 40 members of the community.
The Premier Benefactor was PNC Bank and the Grand Benefactor was J.P. Morgan. Award sponsors were Wells Fargo, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show, The Palm Beach Post, Gunster and Northern Trust Bank. Other sponsors included Tiffany & Co., Office Depot and The Breakers.
