About the 2015 Viola Awards

To a record crowd of over 600 people, the winners of the 2015 Viola Awards for Excellence in the Arts were announced at High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The 7th annual Gala event took place on Saturday, March 7, 2015.

The 2015 Viola Award (pictured at left) was designed by local artist and educator, Sonja London-Hall, who was also a nominee for Excellence in Arts Education. Sonja is an Arizona native and local artist.  She has been an active member of the Flagstaff arts community, Flagstaff and Sedona galleries for the past 20 years.  The award this year was designed to pay homage to Viola and the arts which “make the world go round” represented by the gears and spinning world.

2015 Viola Award Gala Noteworthy Items:

• 

  This was the highest attendance ever at a Viola Award Gala, with 600 people total (560 seated guests and 40 more staff, volunteers and performers).

• The Gala was highlighted by performances by Emerging Artist winner and musical act Tow’rs and nominee Flagstaff Aerial Arts (pictured), who had performers dancing in the air by hanging from silks off one of the main beams in the lobby.
• Mike Levin, who took home the Viola for his work with three other actors in God of Carnage, is one of only two individuals (Seth Muller) that has been nominated for a Viola Award in all seven years of the event’s history.
• Emcee Andres Adauto, also known as Dapper Dre, brought a fun, high energy element to the night.
• The first-ever tie in a category was recorded this year, with two individuals taking home the coveted Excellence in the Visual Arts Award: Tina Mion for Memento Mori, and Ulrike Arnold for Earth Art at the Museum of Northern Arizona. While a tie is indeed rare, it’s clear that both exhibitions and artists are worthy of the recognition.
• Forty-two video interviews were premiered on the big screen at the event, featuring all 42 nominees discussing their art and their work that led to their recognition. The videos can be seen on each nominee page.
• A bloopers reel of the interviews was played at the end of the night. All videos are posted on Flagstaff Arts Council’s YouTube channel.
• Photos from the Gala, both of the winners and from the photo booth, are posted on the Arts Council’s website.

Official 2015 Viola Award Winners

Announcing the winners of the 2015 Viola Awards for Excellence in the Arts!

Excellence in the Visual Arts

Two winners:
Ulrike Arnold for Earth Art
Tina Mion for Memento Mori

Excellence in the Performing Arts

Adrienne Bischoff, Becky Daggett, Mike Levin and Joe Maniglia for God of Carnage

Excellence in Storytelling

James Jay and Jesse Sensibar for Narrow Chimney Reading Series

Excellence in Arts Education

Thomas Byers

Excellence in Science Education

David Thompson

Business for the Arts

Hozhoni Foundation

Excellence in Leadership

Todd Sullivan

Emerging Artist Award

Tow’rs

Official 2015 Viola Award Nominees

Click on each nominated project or nominee for more information and interview video

Visit the Official Nominees Page to learn more about each nominee and view video interviews with them.

Special thanks to Brian Cass of Echo Productions for his video production work. He is the producer behind all the nominee videos. Click here to view our YouTube channel to see all the videos in one place.

Here’s the blooper reel that was shown during the Gala event: