CAUSES | Finalist for 2013 Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts

2013 Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts

2013 Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts

NEW YORK CITY |  I am honored to share that I am a Finalist for the 2013 Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts, given annually by the Asian American Arts Alliance.

According to the Alliance’s website, the Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts “recognizes and encourages Asian American individuals who demonstrate a commitment to outstanding service, advocacy and leadership — and whose active participation in or for the arts has made a considerable impact.”

It continues: “Selections are based on demonstrated and exceptional service to or participation in the field, the impact of the work and the potential for future contributions.”

The actual 2013 Wai Look Awardee is Gladys Chen of 2G Theater. Congratulations, Gladys!

The Wai Look Award will be presented at the organization’s gala on October 15, 2013. The gala will take place Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 6:30pm at Tribeca Rooftop (2 Desbrosses St, NYC).

To purchase tickets for the gala, visit http://aaartsalliance.org/page/31st-gala

Asian American Arts Alliance gala

Asian American Arts Alliance gala

The tickets are expensive. If it were not for this award, I could not afford to go. If you have the extra change, please come to support the Asian American Arts Alliance.

The gala is a celebration of outstanding Asian Americans in the arts and an opportunity for audiences and patrons to significantly raise the level of support for artistic talent within our community.

You will also meet other gala honorees: visual artist and fashion designer Richard Tsao, as well as jazz musicians and 2013 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Vijay Iyer. Cindy Hsu and Phil Nee are the emcees.

Past galas have attracted more than 1,000 artists, cultural and business leaders, philanthropists, elected officials, and community members. Honorees and presenters have included Margaret Cho, David Henry Hwang, Phillip Lim, Suketu Mehta, Mira Nair, SuChin Pak, Maulik Pancholy, Jeff Staple, BD Wong, and many others.

Wai Look Award
Established in 2011, the Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts is a tribute to the life and work of Wai Look, who served on the Asian American Arts Alliances board of directors from 1999 until her death in December 2010. She spent most of her career in the arts, as an administrator and in artist services, and devoted herself to helping others. Look also strongly believed in the importance of volunteering, which was reflected in her personal, as well as professional life. The award is given periodically to an Asian American who is making a significant contribution to the arts by demonstrating a commitment to outstanding service, advocacy and/or leadership.

Purpose and Criteria
The Wai Look Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts is intended to recognize and encourage Asian American individuals working as an arts administrator, advocate, leader or equivalent whose active participation in or for the arts has made a considerable impact. The award aims to illustrate the potential of exemplary work in the field.

Past winners of the Wai Look Award are Christine Toy Johnson, actor, playwright and filmmaker (2012), and Deepa Purohit, co-founder of Rising Circle Theater Collective (2011).

About Wai Look (1969–2010)
Born in New York, Wai Look was one of five daughters in a Chinese American family. She grew up in Queens and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1991. Since that time, she held positions in management and development for the United Hospital Fund, the Arts & Business Council of New York, and the New York Pops. A longtime board member of a4, Ms. Look served on the executive committee as board secretary. She also served on the board of the Artists Community Federal Credit Union.

About the Asian American Arts Alliance
The Asian American Arts Alliance (a4) is dedicated to strengthening Asian American artists and arts/cultural groups in New York City through funding, promotion and community building. a4 helps support individual artists and arts organizations access and share resources online and in person. A4 builds community through programs that lead to peer-learning, collaboration, and professional development.

Asian American Arts Alliance gala

Asian American Arts Alliance gala

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