Arts And Culture Leaders Honored At Seventh Annual Daniel E. Offutt III Arts & Culture Empowerment (ACE) Awards

The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County will greet nearly 200 guests at their Seventh Annual Daniel E. Offutt III Arts & Culture Empowerment (ACE) Awards, celebrating the community impact, quality, and diversity of arts and culture across Coastal Fairfield County. 

This year, the ACE Awards event will highlight the significant role that artists and arts and cultural institutions play in connecting communities across government, businesses, nonprofit agencies, educational institutions and municipalities. 

David Green, Executive Director of Cultural Alliance explains, “We see the arts and culture as a key mechanism in bringing vitality to our municipalities. These ACE awardees are illustrative of how the arts intersect with and serve as a bridge across all of the other community stakeholders in Fairfield County."

The ACE awards are made in five categories: Artist, Citizen, Corporate, Educator, and Nonprofit. In addition to these awards, an additional President's Award will be presented to Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in honor of their significant impact on the arts, culture, and children's health in Fairfield County.

Tony-Award winning Broadway star James Naughton will once again emcee the award ceremony. Speakers include Michelle Lapine McCabe, Executive Director, Connecticut Main Street Center, who will offer a keynote address that focuses on her own role in bringing communities together to invigorate and sustain our downtowns. In addition to Michelle, speakers will include Elizabeth Shapiro, Director of Arts, Preservation and Museums (DECD) and Jason Mancini, Executive Director, Connecticut Humanities. 

The following arts and cultural leaders will be honored at the breakfast:

Artist Award: Cris Dam, URSA, Bridgeport
Educator Award: Jenny Nelson, Westport Country Playhouse

Citizen Award: Vic Mulaire, NEST Art Factory, Bridgeport

Corporate Award: David Genovese, Baywater Properties, Darien

Nonprofit Award: Mike Jehle accepting for Fairfield Museum & History Center 

President's Award in Honor of Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward:

Clea Newman will accept the President's Award on behalf of her parents, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, in recognition of their significant impact on arts, culture, children's education and health, and environmental preservation in our region.