ABC/NY Hosts 46th Annual Encore Awards

The Arts & Business Council of New York (ABC/NY), a division of Americans for the Arts, will celebrate excellence in arts and business partnerships, arts management, and business volunteerism in the arts at the 46th Annual Encore Awards on Tuesday, May 24, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at The Riverside Theatre in Harlem.

This is New York's only event dedicated to bringing together arts managers and individual artists from every discipline with members of the business community who support the arts through their time, talent, and treasure. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception that will provide an opportunity for the arts and business networking that is one of the hallmarks of this event.

"Imagine New York without the roar of its economic engine that is the arts? Without innovation, imagination, creativity? No need!" said ABC/NY executive director Will Maitland Weiss. "How is the Bronx Council on the Arts changing Westchester Square through its partnership with JPMorgan Chase? Who leads the miracle that is Harlem Stage? What impact is a volunteer having on the success of the Roundabout? How have the Bill T. Jones and Dance Theatre Workshop companies been transformed into NY Live Arts? The power of arts AND business."

This year's Encore Award winners are:

Arts & Business Partnership: Chase & Bronx Council on the Arts
Creative Business Volunteer: Linda L. D'Onofrio, Of Counsel at Day Pitney LLP, for her work with Roundabout Theatre Company
Excellence in Arts Management: Patricia Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage
· Special Award: New York Live Arts (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company & Dance Theater Workshop Reimagined)

"I deeply appreciate the recognition that the Arts & Business Council of New York is giving our new organization at the very start of its life," said Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director of New York Live Arts. "With New York Live Arts, we are ushering in a new model of movement-based arts organization, which I believe will breathe fresh life into our community and afford greater opportunities to artists and audiences alike. At this pivotal moment for us, as we prepare to announce our inaugural season, it is tremendously encouraging that ABC/NY acknowledges the promise of what we're offering New York and the world."

The event will be held at The Riverside Theatre, located inside the historic Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Ave. (at W. 120th St.), in Harlem. Tickets are $25. For more information, visit www.artsandbusiness-ny.org/sc/encore.

ABC/NY is committed to developing more creative partnerships between the arts and business communities in New York, enhancing the business skills of the arts sector and the creative engagement of the business sector through programs in volunteer development, professional development, and leadership development. ABC/NY is a division of Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. www.artsandbusiness-ny.org

AND BUSINESS COUNCIL OF NEW YORK
46th ANNUAL ENCORE AWARD WINNERS

Arts & Business Partnership: Chase & Bronx Council on the Arts
With its recent gift of a former bank building to the Bronx Council on the Arts, Chase demonstrates leadership and vision for a revitalized arts and cultural community in the Bronx. For many years, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation has been an exemplary corporate citizen that has supported arts and culture commerce in the Bronx and beyond. On April 4, 2011, Mayor Bloomberg presided at a press conference announcing that through the strategic and philanthropic support of JPMorgan Chase, a former Washington Mutual bank branch is to become BCA's new headquarters that will serve as a vital anchor for the revitalized Westchester Square business district in the Bronx. BCA has leveraged this gift to develop collaborations with the Westchester Square community, the Westchester Square Merchants' Association, local businesses, and local artists. This creative and lasting support provides a model for growing and sustaining communities by spotlighting the arts and their role as economic catalysts.

Creative Business Volunteer: Linda L. D'Onofrio, Of Counsel at Day Pitney LLP, for her work with Roundabout Theatre Company
Ms. D'Onofrio, Of Counsel in Day Pitney LLP's Public Finance Group, is nationally recognized in the field of tax law and was recently named one of the New York area's best lawyers by New York Magazine. As a member of Roundabout's Leadership Council and its Development Committee, she spearheads outreach to enhance the organization's sustainability and financial strength. She has spent hundreds of hours volunteering with Roundabout's management on the tax-exempt financing structure for the Studio 54 theater. Combining her passion for the theater with unique professional expertise, she is a tireless ambassador and an indispensable leader who has helped ensure Roundabout's future success for generations to come.

Excellence in Arts Management: Patricia Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage
As executive director of Harlem Stage, Ms. Cruz led the organization through a $26 million capital project, resulting in the first new performance facility developed in Harlem in over 20 years. An abandoned part of the 19th century Croton Aqueduct system was transformed into The Gatehouse, a 192-seat state-of-the-art flexible performance space and administrative home for the organization-and was awarded by the Landmarks Conservancy for outstanding preservation efforts of a historic site. Her savvy in fostering creative partnerships that extend Harlem's rich cultural legacy with artists of color has provided maximum access to new audiences, talents, and revenue streams for Harlem Stage. The cost-effective business model also provides for an exponential increase in marketing exposure for Harlem Stage and for its partners.

Special Award: New York Live Arts (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company & Dance Theater Workshop Reimagined)
In 2010, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop (DTW) announced a merger of the two organizations to form New York Live Arts, a new model of artist-led organization that aims to support movement-based artists through adaptive approaches to creation, presentation, touring, education, and community engagement. New York Live Arts is based at DTW's home, the Doris Duke Performance Center at 219 West 19th Street in Manhattan, and is led by Bill T. Jones (who first performed at DTW in 1980) as Executive Artistic Director, Carla Peterson as Artistic Director, and Jean Davidson as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.