Arts Friendly has announced the recipients of its 2019 awards and named Ben Knight to its Honorary Board of the Arts Friendly Foundation, according to two announcements from the organization.
The recipients of the 2019 Arts Friendly Awards are:
- Artist: Joshua Marquez for Music Composition
- Advocate: Tony Rivenbark for Thalian Hall Best Practices & Restorations
- Arts in Education: Brandon Guthrie for Higher Education Teaching & Arts Administration at Cape Fear Community College
- Organization: Thalian Association Community Theatre for Quality Local Theatre, Management of the Community Arts Center and Arts Education
- Certified Arts Friendly business: MoMentum Companies real estate brokerage & development services for Emphasis on Quality of Life and a Flourishing Arts Community
The Arts Friendly Awards will take place on March 16. Detailed biographies of the recipients and audio interviews are published on the Arts Friendly
website.
Recipients for the Arts Friendly Awards are chosen by a panel of arts experts outside of Wilmington, according to the release.
And Knight has joined the Honorary Board of the Arts Friendly Foundation. His work has been shown in Kinston, Durham and Greenville, as well as in New York and Chicago, officials said in the release.
“As a working artist, I have a great affinity for the mission of the Arts Friendly Foundation,” Knight said in the release. “Wilmington has an exceptionally high-quality arts community. I look forward to involvement with the efforts of Arts Friendly and the Wilmington arts community.”
He has a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from Northwestern University. He has studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as The Cooper Union and The Arts Students League of New York, in New York City.
“Ben is an exceptional entrepreneur and visual artist,” Terry Espy, MoMentum Companies president and board member with Arts Friendly Foundation, said in the release. “Many people know Ben for his work with his wife, Vivian Howard, in creating Chef & The Farmer and Boiler Room Oyster Bar in Kinston and Benny’s Big Time Pizzaría in Wilmington. In addition, Ben is an accomplished visual artist and attuned to the needs of the arts community.”
