NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Oct. 6, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
RAND ELLIOTT TO RECEIVE
GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD
Oklahoma City, OK –Rand Elliott, Oklahoma City, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 34th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Elliott will receive a Business in the Arts Award that recognizes individuals, businesses and corporations who exhibit outstanding support of the arts in Oklahoma. This award was created in memory of Earl Sneed, prominent arts advocate.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 16 individuals and five organizations will be honored for their contributions to the arts in their communities or throughout the state. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 20th in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Kym Koch Thompson and Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Tate. A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony.
In addition to being an award winning architect, Rand Elliott is known for his willingness to dream and create inventive designs, his volunteer leadership for cultural organizations and active support of area artists. In terms of the visual experience of Oklahoma, Elliott’s architectural projects have changed the urban landscape (like the Chesapeake Boathouse on the Oklahoma River), become instant icons (like POPS on Route 66), and created community (like The Washita Theatre in Cordell). Elliott consistently challenges his clients and his community to experience light, color, and materials in new ways.
Elliott was inducted into Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame in 2008. His firm, Elliott + Associates Architects, has received 224 Architectural, Interior, Lighting and Graphic Design Awards and are the only Oklahoman architectural firm to win an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award.
He has served as a volunteer leader and supporter for various arts groups and is quite active in the arts community. Most recently, he has served as a board member for City Arts Center, taking roles as Exhibitions Co-Chair and President. He has supported the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition since its inception in 1988 through sponsorships, art donations and promotion. He brought amazing speakers and opportunities to the AIA Chapter in Central Oklahoma through years as the program chair.
Elliott helps area artists through direct and indirect support and encourages his clients to incorporate original art whenever possible. He has arranged multiple commissions of major sculpture for Oklahoma artists including. For instance, his team redesigned the downtown OKC Underground, adding art throughout. Because of his leadership, three Oklahoma artists received first-ever large scale public art commissions. Similarly, he hired local artists Robin Orbach Starke to create an entry sculpture for the Choctaw Library. For each project, Elliott mentors the artists, helping them learn about building timelines, working with clients, and permanent materials. These public art projects also benefit the communities who experience the artwork on a daily basis.
As a vocal champion of Oklahoma, Elliott has raised the profile of Oklahoma architecture and broader culture nationwide. His work and ideas have been featured in dozens of national publications and so he re-writes notions of Oklahoma, emphasizing the beauty of our land, stories of our people, and potential for our future.
A complete list of Governor’s Arts Awards recipients and their photos are available at www.arts.ok.gov. For more information about the Governor’s Arts Awards, please contact Ann Dee Lee at (405) 521-2931 or at anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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