The Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA) today announced the recipients of its annual Iowa Cultural Corridor Innovation Excellence Awards (aka The Ickys!)  Monday, January 26, at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City.

Art proves resilient at Icky awards show
01-26-2009 | Fine Arts

By Loren Keller From www.corridorbuzz.com

If last summer’s flooding dampened the spirits of those who write, perform or produce on the Corridor’s arts and cultural scene, there was little evidence of that on display at the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance’s third annual Icky awards show tonight.

“Art is resilient,” said new ICAA board president David Kilpatrick. “Art continues. It’s primordial. It’s in our DNA.”

Kilpatrick noted that last summer’s “Moving Home” production at Brucemore — which picked up two Ickys in the category of theatre programming and a collaborative award between ICCA members Brucemore, Legion Arts, Liars Theatre, SPT Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids and Urban Theater Project of Iowa — was staged less than 30 days after the flood in June.

“That is art responding to a challenge,” he said. “Our job as artists is to find that optimism. Art always survives.”

Brucemore executive director Jim Kern called the “Moving Home” production “one of the most audacious and gutsy moves these six organizations ever pursued." The production raised $18,000 for flood relief.

“Gutsy is what it took,” he said.

The night’s other dual Icky award winner was the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, which won awards in the categories of children’s programming for its exhibit “Mary GrandPré: Harry Potter and Beyond” and visual arts programming for another current exhibit, “The Year of the River: Flood Photography from The Gazette.”

Museum director Terry Pitts said “The Year of the River” has drawn 23,000 visitors so far, making it the museum’s second most viewed exhibit following a 2005 display on Grant Wood.

“They produced a terrific body of photographs,” he said of the 83 images captured by Gazette photgraphers.  “Buried beneath those horrible images was a healing message that had to be shared with everyone in the community.”

In all, 13 Ickys were handed out at the Englert Theatre tonight in front of an audience of about 400. The two hour, fifteen minute awards show offered a lively mix of live entertainment in addition to speeches from award winners.

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was honored with an Icky in the history programming category for its exhibit “1968: Twelve Volatile Months that Changed the World”— a display cut short by devastating floodwaters.

“We’re going to come back and we’re going to be better than ever,” said Jan Stoffer, the museum’s director of operations and education and self-described “recovering mucker.”

Another flood-affected event winner, in the category of music programming, was the New Bohemia Music and Art Festival.

Jim Jacobmeyer, president of the New Bohemia Group, said the festival was nearly canceled due to the flooding on Third Street before it was moved other locations in Cedar Rapids as well as Iowa City and Waterloo, to 11 different stages total.

“I’m glad we did it,” Jacobmeyer said. “We’ll be back on Third Street in 2009 and we’ll see you there.”

Thirty-five of the cultural alliance’s 149 members were directly affected by last summer’s flooding, though ICCA executive director Joe Jennison noted that not a single one of them was wiped out.

“This is the year we learned about mucking, mold remediation and rescheduling,” he said. “All 149 are continuing to pursue their missions in earnest. Next year will obviously be a big funding challenge for all of us.”

Here is the complete list of 2009 Icky award winners:

Children’s Programming: “Mary GrandPré: Harry Potter and Beyond” — Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Dance Programming: “The Nutcracker” — The Englert Theatre and Nolte Academy of Dance

Festival Programming: “Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival” — Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers

History Programming: “1968: Twelve Volatile Months that Changed the World” — National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

Music Programming: “New Bohemia Music and Art Festival” — New Bohemia Group

Theatre Programming: “Moving Home” — Classics at Brucemore, Legion Arts, Liars Theatre, SPT Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, and Urban Theater Project of Iowa

Touring Events Programming: “Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco” — U.S. Cellular Center

Visual Arts Programming: “The Year of the River: Flood Photography from The Gazette” — Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and The Gazette

Educational Programming: “Arts in a Post-Disaster Community: Lessons from New Orleans” — CSPS/Legion Arts, Access Iowa, and the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance

Collaborative Award — between ICCA members: “Moving Home” — Classics at Brucemore, Legion Arts, Liars Theatre, SPT Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids, and Urban Theater Project of Iowa

Reaching Out Collaborative Award — between ICCA members and non-ICCA members: “Culture’s Alive at Lindale” — Lindale Mall, Cedar Rapids Community School District Foundation, Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Science Station, and Theatre Cedar Rapids

Advocacy Awards were also presented to Bob Goodfellow and Audrey Linge-Ovel. These two awards—the Larry Eckholt Award for the South Corridor and the North Corridor Advocate Award—are meant to honor a community member/leader who exemplifies passion, commitment and advocacy to the cultural vitality of the Corridor.