City of Kingston Announces 2024 Distinguished Artist Award Recipient

Mayor Steven T. Noble and the Kingston Arts Commission are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 City of Kingston Distinguished Artist Award will be visual artist and illustrator Matthew Pleva. The Distinguished Artist Award ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 23 at 5:30pm at City Hall, 420 Broadway, Kingston, NY. The ceremony is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Born and raised in Kingston, Matthew Pleva and his body of work have been heavily influenced by the history and architecture of the city and its surroundings. After graduating from Kingston High School in 1993, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY Purchase in 1997. He returned to Kingston and became active in the arts community, beginning with entries in the early years of the Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby, as a member of the artist co-op Upfront Art, and local gallery shows. For years he worked as a bench jeweler by day and an artist by night, honing his illustration style and technique. From 2012 to 2015, he and his wife Heidi Abrams-Pleva opened The Art Riot, a co-op retail store that focused on locally produced arts and crafts. In 2014, Pleva produced his first large-scale mural for the O+ Festival, and then a second in 2017. Matthew continues to be involved in the art community. He has a revolving display window at Half Moon Books and his work is available at World’s End Comics.

The selection panel for the Distinguished Artist Award comprised five Kingston residents: visual artist and educator Isabel Cotarelo; Executive Director of the Kingston, Library Margie Menard; photographer Sikena Khadija; actor/educator/COO of Boys and Girls Club Kingston, AnnChris Warren; and visual artist Kai Navarrete. Specials thanks to the Chair of the Distinguished Artist Award committee, Lisa B. Kelley, who is the Executive Director of the Midtown Arts District (MAD) and serves on the Kingston Arts Commission.

About the Kingston Arts Commission: the KAC’s mission is to strengthen the local economy by attracting and promoting artists, arts venues, and arts entrepreneurs; encouraging cultural tourism; creating opportunities for training and employment in a range of creative fields; and enhancing quality of life amenities that make Kingston a more attractive city in which to live. By so doing, the City of Kingston gains greater regional and national recognition.

CITY OF KINGSTON DISTINQUISHED ARTISTS AWARD 

Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs and the Kingston Arts Commission are now accepting nominations for the fourth City of Kingston Distinguished Artist Award.

The Distinguished Artist Award, established in 2018 through a partnership with Mayor Steve Noble and the Kingston Arts Commission, is a bi-annual recognition of a Kingstonian’s creative excellence, artistic accomplishments and involvement in the community. NOMINEES FOR THE DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AWARDS MUST BE A RESIDENT OF KINGSTON FOR A MINIMUM OF TWO YEARS AND RECOGNIZED BY PEERS AND EXPERTS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY AS AMONG THE MOST HIGHLY CELEBRATED IN THEIR FIELD. 

 We encourage nominations for creatives from all cultural backgrounds who may work in any artistic discipline including, but not limited to: painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, theater, film and music. The awardee will be chosen based upon the level of their artistry, commitment to the art form, commitment to the community, and recognition in the field locally, nationally or internationally.

Nominations must include the submission form and a one-page narrative that illustrate the nominee’s qualifications. Nominations must be submitted by 430PM, FRIDAY, March 22, 2024 to City of Kingston’s Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs: via THIS ONLINE FORM; VIA THIS PDF FORM BY email TO [email protected], or mailed/dropped off at City Hall at 420 Broadway.

The awardee will be selected by a panel comprised of peers and professionals in the field. Note that the awardee is not chosen by the quantity of nominations received, but by the QUALITY of the nomination, of their work and by their commitment to the community. The awardee will be recognized by Mayor Steve Noble, the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs and the Arts Commission at an award ceremony and reception held at City Hall on May 23, 2024. As Distinguished Artist of the City of Kingston, the awardee will hold the distinction for two years and will be extended a standing invitation as a special guest to City of Kingston events and recognized as such when present.

The Distinguished Artist Award was presented to artists Peter Wetzler and Julie Hedrick in 2018, to musician Lara Hope in 2020 and to performance artist Jaguar Mary X.

The Distinguished Artist Awards 2022

Mayor Steven T. Noble and the Kingston Arts Commission are pleased to announce the 2022 City of Kingston Distinguished Artist Award will be presented to performance artist Jaguar Mary X.

Jaguar Mary X (they/them) is a performance artist, glossolalia vocalist, filmmaker, and hoop dancer. Their specific concerns, and the directives that have driven their art practice, engage black feminist discourse, questions of history, and ritual performance and practice in art. Jaguar Mary has shown and performed internationally at the Johannesburg and Havana Biennials, the New Museum, Museum of Modern Art, KARST Gallery in the UK and Dietch Projects in New York. In 2020, they were commissioned to make work for the Public Art Fund and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. They also received grants from the Jerome Foundation and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Jaguar Mary is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program, has an MFA in Film and Video from California Institute for the Arts, and received a full scholarship from Pratt Institute and completed an MFA in Performance and Performance Studies in May 2019. Jaguar Mary X is a Kingston resident.

The panel for the 2022 Distinguished Artist Award was comprised of five Kingston residents: Dominick Hiddo, painter; Brian Mahoney, editor; Kai Navarette, visual artist; Sarah Reiter, writer/director; and Laura Victoria Ward, choreographer/dancer. 

The Distinguished Artist Award ceremony, free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, May 26 at 5:30pm in Council Chambers at City Hall. A reception immediately follows.

About the Distinguished Artist Award

The Distinguished Artist Award was established in 2018 through partnership with Mayor Steve Noble and the Kingston Arts Commission. The Distinguished Artist Award seeks to reward the achievements of local artists and creative thinkers.

Nominees for the Distinguished Artist Awards must have been a resident of Kingston for a minimum of two years. Nominees will have demonstrated a commitment to the local creative community. Awardees are selected by a panel of their peers, and are honored in a ceremony held at City Hall.

The Distinguished Artist Award was presented to artists Peter Wetzler and Julie Hedrick in 2018 and to musician Lara Hope in 2020.