2016 Artist in Residence Nomination Form

2015 WINNERS
Ar tist in Residence
The 2015 Artist in Residence was awarded to
accomplished musician and Farmington Hills
resident Ara Topouzian. In 1991, in order to
record and preserve Armenian, Arabic and other forms of traditional music, Ara founded
American Recording Productions (ARP).
Since then, his record label has produced over
30 recordings of Armenian, Middle Eastern,
Bulgarian, and Greek music with worldwide distribution both in
retail stores and online. Most recently Topouzian was awarded
the 2012 Kresge Artist Fellowship for the Performing Arts, and
was voted “Best Local Folk Artist” by WDIV Channel 4 Detroit.
Topouzian: “My ultimate goal is to find unique and innovative
ways to make music accessible and engaging.”
aratopouzian.com
Distinguished Service to the Ar ts
Founded in 2012, kickstART Farmington is a nonprofit 501(c) (3)
organization based in Farmington Hills. “We are incredibly honored to receive this award as kickstART Farmington was founded
with the simple belief that the arts play an important role in building community. Everything kickstART has done to this point —
from Super 8 Movie Night and the Gratitude Photo Project to the
Greater Farmington Film Festival — has been undertaken with the
goal of making our community an even better place to live, work,
and visit,” said kickstART co-founder Dwayne Hayes.
kickstartfarmington.org
The Artist in Residence Award is given each year to a resident of Farmington or Farmington Hills who displays exceptional talent and artistic accomplishments. The Distinguished Service to the Arts Award recognizes outstanding service to the community in
the creative arts by a group or individual. Award winners are selected from a list of nominees by an independent jury of professionals in various art related fields. Nomination
forms are available in November each year.
For more information, please email: [email protected]
PAST ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE:
1976 Joe Clark, Photographer
1977 John Glick, Potter
1978 Edee Joppich, Artist
1979 George Theodore Still, Conductor
1980 Gail Yurasek Piepenburg, Artist
1981 Charlene Slabey, Composer
1982 Alice Nichols, Artist
1983 Tom Hale, Artist
1984 Walter Reddig, Architect
1985 Lois Bro, Sculptor
1986 Larry Hayden, Wildlife Artist
1987 Monte Nagler, Photographer
1988 Gwen Tomkow, Artist
1989 Frank Lohan, Illustrator
1990 Lena Massara, Artist
1991 Donna Vogelheim, Artist
1992 Evanthia Samra, Artist
1993 Karen Nixon Lane, Conductor
1994 Elaine Grohman, Artist/Calligraphy
1995 Kegham Tazian, Artist/Sculptor
1996 Howard Weingarden, Painter
1997 Barbara Selinger, Dancer
1998 Danguole Jurgutis, Painter
1999 Robert Piepenburg, Potter
2000 Marjorie Chellstorp, Artist
2001 Junebug Clark, Photographer
2002 Bernadette Zachara-Marcos, Sculptor
2003 Jeri Fellwock, Artist
2004 Stas Wisniach, Musician
2005 Gail Eisner, Artist
2006 Joe Dzenowagis, Videographer
2007 Patri O'Connor, Painter
2008 Kendra Anderson, Embroiderer
2009 Janice Jacobs, Fiber Artist
2010 Andrea Anderson, Weaver
2011 Robbie Best, Painter
2012 Allen Brown, Basket Weaver
2013 Robert Aikins, Aviation Artist
2014 James & Susan Nuckolls, Musicians PAST DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
TO THE ARTS
1996 Betty Walker, Farmington Musicale
1999 May D. Arvo, Farmington Musicale
2002Fern Barber, Music Teacher,
2003Farmington Area Arts Commission
2003 Farmington Community Musical
Theater Group
2004 Larry Hutchinson, DSO, P & R Board
2005 Farmington Players Barn
2006 The Farmington Community Band
2007 Larry Hutchinson, DSO, P & R Board
2008 Mel Rookus, Music Teacher, Musical
Director, Nardin Park
2009 Lisa Muscio, Youth Theatre
2010 Farmington Musicale
2011 Mercedes Benz Financial Services
2012 Cynthia and Brian Tupper
2013 Farmington Arts Foundation
2014 Bella Vino