Kamala Eaton and Janice Thacker are among 13 individuals, organizations and businesses that will receive awards during the 52nd annual Arts Council Awards on Thurs., Nov. 3, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd.
Thacker will be presented the Art Advocate Individual Award in recognition of her annual Art That Touches Your Heart exhibition, which includes a combination of work by Black local and touring artists alongside artwork by Wichita students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Her exhibition has grown into a nonprofit based on Black arts and culture, and she hopes to open a permanent center in shipping containers in the 13th and Grove neighborhood.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in art education from Wichita State University and a master’s from Emporia State University. She has taught arts education and worked as a counselor in Wichita, New York, the Kansas City area and at a US military base in Italy.
Eaton will be honored with the Individual Artists Award. She is a Wichita native and a product of Wichita Public Schools and the Northeast Wichita community.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and graphic design from WSU, and lived and worked in Atlanta and Sacramento as an illustrator and graphic designer before returning to Wichita about 10 years ago. She was chosen to be part of the Horizontes Project on the grain elevator in Northeast Wichita, and her mural “Stronger Together” can be seen at 13th and Santa Fe.
Tickets to the event are $100 per person and include reception, dinner and awards presentation. All proceeds benefit the Arts Council’s mission to advance advocacy, education and outreach and are available now at WichitaArts.com.
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Other winners
Other awards are the Youth Recognition Award to Lillian Meier; the Burton Pell Award to Andrea Banke; the Special Project Individual Award to An Ri for ICT Fashion Tour; the Special Project Group Award to Mark Arts for Patrick Dougherty’s Stickworks; the Art Advocate Group or Business Award to Brickmob; the Arts Educator Award to Doug Billings; the Arts Organization Award to Harvester Arts; the Gordon W. Evans Award to Patricia McDonnell; the Cherches Award to artist Vicki Scurri, engineering firm WSP and landscape architects Baughman Co. for their work at East Kellogg and Webb Road. The two Hall of Fame honorees are John D’Angelo and Bernadette Bradshaw.