2015 Saint Louis Visionary Awards

The 2015 Saint Louis Visionary Awards showcased some extraordinarily talented local women, Monday, April 27, at the Sun Theater. Founded in 2003 by Grand Center, Inc. as the Visionary Awards, the program has undergone a revival through an independent committee of dedicated women. They re-imagiined the St. Louis Visionary Awards to celebrate the numerous contributions and achievements of women who work in or support the arts in St. Louis. From an established working arts professional and arts educator to an emerging artist and community community impact artist, this group of honorees truly define “visionary”.

Presented by Ameren, Ri (Architects of the Possible), and the Steward Family Foundation, Sara Burke and event co-chairs Adrienne Davis and Kim Eberlein recognized the following women: Amy Kaiser, Freida L. Wheaton, Thelma Steward, Kelly Pollock, Shualee Cook, Ilene Berman, and Cecilia Nadal. Special performances kicked off the awards and highlighted the evening as guests heard from Sara Sheperd, singing “Beautiful” from Tony Award winning “Beautiful-The Carole King Musical” and a poetry reading from Cheeraz Gormon, “Woman”. Denise Thimes made an appearance for her close friend Thelma Steward and then returned to do an encore with Sara Sheperd.

Amy Kaiser, successful working artist

Maestro Gerald Schwarz already considered Amy Kaiser “certainly among the best choral directors in the country” when she left New York in 1995 to assume the position of St. Louis Symphony Choral Director. By then, she had extensive experience conducting orchestras and choruses on a national level presenting educational concerts series and preparing choruses for many presitigious music organizations including the New York Philharmonic, Ravinia Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival and Opera Orchestra of New York. Now celebrating her 20th year with the St. Louis Symphony, she has worked with three successive music directors and many international guest conductors to prepare the chorus for all types of music. She remains one of the few women choral directors of large orchestras in the country and serves as an inspiration for young
women aspiring to conducting careers. Her career includes a Fulbright Scholarship, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and the Smith College Medal. Aside from her renown as a choral director, she increasingly is known and loved for her free preconcert talks for the St. Louis Symphony and for her sold-out lecture series for both opera and symphony fans in the St. Louis area.

Freida Wheaton, community impact artist

Freida has established two distinct careers, as an educator in the college classroom and as a corporate lawyer. She now has dedicated herself to using her extensive work experience in the non- profit arts and culture arena. She participates extensively in the community through her work with nonprofit organizations. She founded her Salon 53, a private residential art gallery in 2006 and has collaborated with other art institutions in several art initiatives. Besides curating the collection exhibited at Salon 53, she gained experience with the June 2008, Contemporary Art Gallery, Forest Park Community College, and the 2007 Black Fine Arts Show of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. Recently, she curated a 14-venue exhibition “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Artists Respond” that included over 100 artists, exhibited by the Alliance of Black Art Galleries. She also curated “Now! Vibrant Traditions With An Unexpected Twist” for Philip Slein Gallery, St. Louis, December 19, 2014 – January 24, 2015. She is affiliated with the Lambert International Airport Art Advisory Committee. She has served in board leadership roles at the St. Louis Art Museum over 14 years.

Thelma Steward, major contributor to the arts

A registered nurse by profession, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, Thelma Steward’s other passion besides her family is giving back to the community. She, together with her husband David, donate their time, talent and financial resources to a wide variety or causes and organizations. Among her positions on various boards, accomplishments and accolades, Thelma serves on the Sheldon Arts Foundation Board, the Saint Louis Symphony Board, and the Saint Louis Art Museum Board. She and David co-chaired the 2012 Symphony Gala and proved instrumental in recruiting the legendary Jazz great, Wynton Marsalis, to headline the event. Thelma also chaired the 2013 100th Anniversary of the Sheldon Concert Hall and has sponsored numerous jazz artists at the Touhill for Jazz St. Louis. Recently, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis created, through a generous contribution from the Stewards, the Thelma Steward Endowed Artist Position. This award is bestowed on deserving young talented singers of color.

Kelly Pollock, outstanding arts professional

Kelly Pollock has served as the Executive Director at COCA (Center of Creative Arts), a dynamic community arts center in St. Louis, MO, since 2010. Prior to her current role, Pollock served as COCA’s general manager from 2006, overseeing all business operations and programming. She joined COCA in 1997 and served as its director of development for eight formative years as the organizational budget grew from $1.7 million to $5 million. Under Pollock’s leadership, COCA has developed and launched COCAbiz, an innovative arts-based training division for businesses that helps individuals and teams embrace creative problem-solving, innovative thinking, and more dynamic leadership. The program ranks among the first of its kind in the country. COCA undoubtedly has become one of the most vital arts organizations in the St. Louis community, and Ms. Pollock’s visionary and dynamic leadership of this organization has taken its impact to a nationally recognized level. Her extensive knowledge, networking, and innovation inspire this community to new artistic heights. She educates, leads, nurtures, and shows unwavering commitment to fostering creativity and encouraging ongoing participation in the arts.

Shualee Cook, emerging artist

Shualee embodies an exemplary emerging playwright. In a community with proportionally few local plays produced on professional stages, the caliber of her work already is considered world-class. Her newest play, “An Invitation Out,” will receive its world premiere as a MainStage production at Mustard Seed Theatre. She also is recognized as a talented director and performer. Her play “Osgood Rex” was performed at the first St. Louis Fringe Festival, and it won the audience favorite vote by a landslide. Her writing has poignancy, perspective, an entirely fresh voice, and it absolutely exhibits stunning theatrical work.

Ilene Berman, outstanding arts educator

Ilene Berman, a St. Louis-based sculptor, has a durational arts practice aimed at addressing issues of social justice. Her practice is based on her belief that art can (and should) change the world. She understands change to result from small shifts often expressed through simple, artful gestures. Her most recent creation, Room13Delmar, forms a tricycle-based mobile art studio. She has a Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and currently holds a two-year post-graduate fellowship in Social Practice in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts of St. Louis University. Her work has been featured in Sculpture Magazine, the St. Louis Beacon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and on the BBC. For the past seven years her practice primarily has focused on seeking to address St. Louis’ Delmar Divide by developing a more visible arts presence in the blocks of the Grand Center Arts District, north of Delmar Boulevard.

Cecilia Nadal, community impact artist

Cecilia Nadal has spent most of her life building cross-cultural bridges in St. Louis, Missouri. After 23 years as president of an employment firm that specialized in training employers and low-income job seekers how to transcend class divisions, she founded Gitana Productions, Inc., the first arts organization (1996) with the central mission of cross-cultural engagement through drama, dance, and music performances. In 2007, she was asked to use her expertise in the area of Roma culture to speak to a group of Roma youth about a subject she studied for over 20 years – their culture. So moved by this experience, she started Global Education through the Arts, a program that brings African-American and immigrant youth together to nurture cultural acceptance. These youth conduct an annual nonviolence tour that has reached over 6,500 St. Louisans. Cecilia’s community work ranges from sponsoring Peace Festivals in North St. Louis to address violence to developing joint theatrical and music programming between the African-American and international communities of our region.

After the presentations, guests attended a reception where they could network and congratulate the honorees. Urban Canvas catered the post-party.