Cindy Dach and Greg Esser work across municipal boundaries and build bridges between artists and the public. They have helped jump-start a vibrant urban art economy and have contributed vastly to the evolution of the Valley’s burgeoning cultural scene. Cindy is general manager of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe and a founder of Local First Arizona, a forum for locally owned businesses. Greg Esser is an award-winning artist, writer and neighborhood activist, who directed the public-art program for the City of Phoenix from 1996 to 2004. Together, they have developed artists’ studios and exhibition spaces in downtown Phoenix, including eye lounge contemporary art space, 515 Arts, Sixth Street Studios, Kitchenette and MADE Art Boutique on Roosevelt Row, which set the stage for today’s emerging, vibrant arts district and residential development.


Wendell Burnette AIA, Principal, was educated in the practice of architecture through 30 years of experience that spans all aspects of the profession spanning a wide range of commercial and residential work. Wendell’s curriculum of self-study education includes a three-year period at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. His 11-year association with the studio of William Bruder culminated in a six-year design collaboration on the Phoenix Central Library as co-designer, project architect, and field architect. Since 1996, he has led Wendell Burnette Architects as its sole principal in all aspects of development. The specific focus of the practice is concerned with space and light, context and place, and with the environment and landscape in which we live. He is also an equal design partner in I-10 Studio, LLC with Marwan Al-Sayed and Rick Joy which is dedicated exclusively to completing design and documents on a destination eco-resort Hotel and Spa in southern Utah Wendell’s work has been featured twice at SMoCA, including the recent Flip a Strip exhibition (2008) and the southwestNET Architecture & Design (2003) exhibition. The Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York also exhibited his work in Design Culture Now. The work of Wendell Burnette Architects has earned numerous honors, including a 1990 Young Architects Award from Progressive Architecture magazine, and most recently a National AIA Honor Award for the Palo Verde Library/Maryvale Community Center. . In addition to the private practice, Wendell is an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Arizona State University.


Bentley Calverley owner of the Bentley Gallery and Bentley Projects, has provided Scottsdale and the warehouse district in downtown Phoenix with contemporary art. The Bentley Gallery in Scottsdale exhibits contemporary painting and sculpture, by internationally recognized artists as well as rising painters and sculptors, and also shows masterworks from the mid- and late-20th-century. After having the Scottsdale location for 18 years, Bentley decided to branch into Phoenix, providing a space for larger sculptures and very large paintings. Bentley Projects occupies a former commercial laundry in a warehouse-style building built in 1912. By normal gallery standards, it is huge, with 24,000 square feet of gallery space spread out over several cavernous industrial rooms. Bentley has also served on the Scottsdale Cultural Council board.


Cindy Dach and Greg Esser work across municipal boundaries and build bridges between artists and the public. They have helped jump-start a vibrant urban art economy and have contributed vastly to the evolution of the Valley’s burgeoning cultural scene. Cindy is general manager of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe and a founder of Local First Arizona, a forum for locally owned businesses. Greg Esser is an award-winning artist, writer and neighborhood activist, who directed the public-art program for the City of Phoenix from 1996 to 2004. Together, they have developed artists’ studios and exhibition spaces in downtown Phoenix, including eye lounge contemporary art space, 515 Arts, Sixth Street Studios, Kitchenette and MADE Art Boutique on Roosevelt Row, which set the stage for today’s emerging, vibrant arts district and residential development.


Nan Ellin is a widely recognized scholar who applies her study of urban planning and public policy far beyond the walls of academia. She is an involved citizen who works effectively for the betterment of the metro area through her stalwart service on public boards and committees, as well as her essays for the Arizona Republic and other publications. Ellin strives to help improve the built environment and to shape a community that is vital, diverse and environmentally conscious. She has a special interest in seeding change by bringing people together to solve problems. With the Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture, Ellin initiated the book Phoenix: 21st Century City (2006). She is a champion for the incorporation of arts and culture into downtown revitalization and works with her students on the frontlines of urban issues.


Rachel Sacco President & CEO, has served the Scottsdale community the past 23 years at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitor’s Bureau. During that time, she has supported and promoted the city as an arts and culture destination. In the early years of promoting Scottsdale, Rachel had to push hard to convince the business community that the arts and culture of the city is more than a sleepy little western town. She put Scottsdale on the map internationally. Rachel’s uniqueness in the industry comes not only from her commitment, but her passion and leadership. She is a visionary who strives for greatness in everything she does. Rachel also is forward-thinking, always interested in forming partnerships to the benefit of the community and the industry. These partnerships have led to the Culture Quest Scottsdale program and the creation of Native Trails, Native American festivals that increase awareness and understanding of our Native American cultures throughout the state. Sacco was inducted into the Arizona State University College of Public Programs’ Alumni Chapter Hall of Fame, named the 2004 Executive of the Year by the Phoenix Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, named to the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame as a Culinary Ambassador in 2005, and named to the Arizona Governor’s Tourism Hall of Fame in 2006.

At the annual benefit, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art honors a group of special individuals whose accomplishments reflect the ideals of creativity, innovation and cultural community that are at the heart of the Museum’s mission. This annual award acknowledges the cultural entrepreneurs and out-of-the-box thinkers in our midst—those who truly have built the foundations of a creative culture here and on whose shoulders we all stand. Such spirited, entrepreneurial individuals have—through their professional or civic activities—raised the profile of contemporary art, architecture and design in the Valley.

We call these individuals Contemporary Catalysts.

This year, SMoCA invites the public to participate by nominating someone for the contemporary catalyst aware through the on-line website www.smocaanniversary.com. All nominators will receive a two-for-one admission voucher to be used at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. From this list of nominees, ten finalists will be chosen for on-line voting. The winner will be announced at the 10th Anniversary Benefit Dinner, February 14, 2009. Nominees who nominated a finalist will be entered to win a pair of tickets to the After-Party following the benefit dinner.

Please avoid any conflicts of interest (or perceptions of conflict of interest); you cannot nominate family members or those whom you share financial interests.

CRITERIA :

Do you have someone to nominate? The ten finalists will be based on the following criteria. Consider how your nominee meets these standards. If it is a good match, continue to the nomination form.

1. Vision

How has this individual influenced the arts, the cultural climate or built the environment of our community? Has his or her visionary activity advanced the possibilities, offerings, range and future of the arts here? How have they expanded, furthered or energized ideas of what living here could and should be like?

2. Advocacy

How has this person heightened public interest, knowledge and adoption of contemporary art, architecture, design and urban planning among Valley residents? How have they championed a shift to a contemporary aesthetic in our visual and build environment? How have they moved the community beyond the status quo?

3. Originality

How has this individual demonstrated forward-thinking, creative thinking or an original approach to problem-solving in the cultural sector? In what ways is he or she a risk-taker or innovator? Has he or she encouraged collaboration and/or cross-disciplinary approaches? Have they forged unlikely or difficult partnerships that move our culture forward? Have they launched new programs or ventures that contribute to our artistic, cultural or built environment?

4. Prominence

How has this person raised the bar for the aesthetic or cultural environment in our community? How have they increased the profile of innovative activity here? What first-rate contributions has he or she made to their professional field(s) that are competitive with national or global standards? What have they done to enhance the national or international image of our region?



Rules


Sponsors

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art [SMoCA] and the Scottsdale Cultural Council are presenting the Contemporary Catalyst Award. The Scottsdale Cultural Council, a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 – management organization, administers the arts and culture affairs of the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, and manages SMoCA as well as the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Public Art Program.

Eligibility

  1. The nominee must have raised the profile of contemporary art, architecture and design in Maricopa County.
  2. Nominations may come in the form of individuals, couples, or business partners. However, business, government or nonprofit entities may not be nominated.
  3. A nominator may not nominate family members or those whom he or she shares financial interests.
  4. Employees of the sponsors and family members of such employees, are ineligible to enter or win.
  5. All nominators will receive a two-for-one voucher for SMoCA admission via e-mail approximately one week after submitting a nomination.

How to Enter

Nominations may be made by the community members knowledgeable about the nominee's commitment to the arts and cultural community of Maricopa County.Multiple nominations for the same candidate are welcomed and encouraged. Nominations will be accepted online through Friday, December 26, 2008 at noon.

Determination of Winner

  1. The award winner will be determined by a multi-phase process: 1) Candidates will be nominated through the online form; 2) Nominations will be reviewed by a panel of judges and pre-finalists will be selected; 3) Pre-finalists will be asked to submit additional information; 4) The nominations and pre-finalist form will be reviewed by a panel of judges and finalists will be selected; 5) Winner will be selected through a combination of online public voting and a panel of judges.
  2. Entries will be judged based on the nominee's evidence of vision, advocacy, originality, and prominence to the art community in Maricopa County.
  3. Finalists will be determined by a panel of jurors composed of community members, past winners, and staff of the Scottsdale Cultural Council. Pre-finalists will be notified via e-mail in January. Pre-finalists are required to submit via e-mail an entry form, personal photo (head shot), and a quote about why they do what they do for the arts community.
  4. Winner will be determined through a combination of public votes in January and selection by a panel of jurors. Panel will be composed of community members, past winners, and staff of the Scottsdale Cultural Council. Public voting will account for 50 percent of the total score, and the combined score from all the jurors will account for 50 percent of the total score. In the event of a tie, the individual with the highest score by the judges will win.
  5. Public voting will take place online at www.smocaanniversary.org during a three-week long period during the January.
  6. Nominations and votes will only be accepted online at www.smocaanniversary.org. Proof of entering will not be deemed proof of receipt by the sponsors. Nominations and online votes must include all information required by form in order to be considered complete and eligible for inclusion in contest.
  7. The program sponsors are not responsible for error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access or alterations of entry materials, or technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware, or software malfunctions of any kind, or not responsible for any injury or damage to any entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from submitting or downloading any materials in conjunction with this program or for entries that are late, misdirected or incomplete.
  8. The program is to be judged by community members, past winners, and staff of the Scottsdale Cultural Council. The decision of the judges will be final.
  9. The Sponsors reserve the right to cancel the program if it becomes technically corrupted.
  10. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

Award

  1. One (1) award will be presented and announced at the SMoCA 10th Anniversary Benefit Dinner, to be held February 14, 2009, at SMoCA and the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
  2. Each of the ten finalists will be invited to participate at the Benefit Dinner and the After-Party.

Bonus After-Party Drawing

  1. Nominators of the ten finalists are automatically entered into the drawing upon submission of completed, eligible nomination form.
    2. One (1) winner will be entered in a drawing to win a pair of tickets to the After-Party on February 14, 2009. The winner will be drawn from a random drawing conducted from among all complete and eligible nominations received by SMoCA, whose decisions are final.
  2. The drawing will be held during the week of January 5, following the announcement of finalists.
  3. Winner will be notified by phone and/or email.
  4. Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

Winners

  1. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
  2. By entering, finalists represent they are eligible and that their entry materials are original, and agree (a) to be bound by these rules and the decision of the jurors, (b) to release the Sponsors, their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize, (c) to the Sponsors’ use of all intellectual property rights in the entry materials, if any.
  3. Any person suspected of defrauding or tampering with this competition in any way will be ineligible and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
  4. The sponsors reserve the right to correct typographical, clerical or printing errors in nomination materials.
  5. By accepting a prize, winner consents to use of his or her name, photograph, likeness, biographical information, and voice in this and future promotions and publicity without further compensation, except where prohibited by law.
  6. The pre-finalists, finalists and the winner will be published online at www.smocaanniversary.org. The winner will also be featured in advertising and media, to be determined.