The ArtsQuest Foundation recently announced the recipients of the second annual Linny Awards. Named after the late Marlene ‘Linny’ Fowler of Bethlehem, the multidisciplinary awards honor Fowler’s dedication to and support of the arts, while celebrating the extraordinary artists, arts educators, businesses and philanthropists who live and work in the Greater Lehigh Valley. All recipients will be presented with their awards during the 2017 Linny Awards 6 p.m. Nov. 9 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Local winners of the 2017 Linny Award winners are:

Alexandra Pobiedzinski, Allentown: Emerging Artist of the Year

This award honors an artist age 30 or younger, who is up-and-coming and/or has had a breakthrough year. Pobiedzinski is an active performer, choreographer, teaching artist and executive director of the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange (LVDE). With LVDE she created and manages the Dance Exposure at SteelStacks and the SpringUp Dance Festival, which is the only professional dance festival in the Lehigh Valley. Her award-winning choreography has been featured at festivals in Philadelphia and New York City.

Richard Shemonsky: Arts Educator of the Year

This award honors a Lehigh Valley-based educator, teaching artist or arts administrator who has made a profound impact on students and/or the community through his or her work in the arts. Affectionately known as “Shu,” Shemonsky has been an arts educator for 42 years and is currently head of Parkland High School’s Visual Arts Department. He has an exceptional skill for finding the unique talent in his students and then helping them advance in both their education and life.

Bria Pickel, Allentown: Student Artist Scholarship Award

This $2,500 award goes to a high school junior or senior planning to pursue a career in arts administration. Pickel, a 2017 graduate of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, is described as “standing out in a school of exceptional students.” Her work is a mix of oil, watercolor, pencil and collage, with a focus on the repetitive patterns in line and shape within the subject matter. Pickel plans to study painting and fine arts, and museum and gallery practices, at Pratt Institute in New York in the fall.

“We are very fortunate to have such an extraordinary array of highly talented artists in the Lehigh Valley; however, it made this year’s selection process very difficult,” Executive Director of the ArtsQuest Foundation Jeffrey Parks said. “It was also a challenge to select the recipients of our business and philanthropy honors because of the creativity and generosity of so many in our region. We are extremely grateful to all those who continue to support the arts here, and we look forward to honoring all of our 2017 Linny Awards winners this November at SteelStacks.”

Linny Award nominations were submitted for artists, organizations and businesses in Lehigh, Northampton, Upper Bucks and Upper Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, and Warren County in New Jersey. Members of the 2017 Linny Awards Selection Committee included:

Paul Farr, 2016 Linny Award Winner for Philanthropy in the Arts

Denise Parker, Northeast Middle School Teacher and 2016 Linny Award Winner for Arts Educator

Ashley Russo, Executive Producer, The Peak TV

Lissette Santana, Sr. Manager, Corporate Relations, PPL

Ricardo Viera, Professor of Art and Director-Curator, Lehigh University Art Galleries

Claire Lukas, Arts Educator and Artist

Neil Wetzel, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies, Moravian College

Dave Lobach, President, Embassy Bank

Dick Boak, Director, Museum Archives and Special Projects, C. F. Martin & Co., Inc.

The ArtsQuest Foundation Board previously selected two local distinguished individuals from the region for their longtime commitment and dedication to the arts.

Steve Coleman, Allentown: Lifetime Achievement Artist Award

A nationally acclaimed saxophone player, Coleman has been called “the linear heir to the instrument’s greats, like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane.” In 2000 he received the Herb Alpert Award, and more recently he received one of America’s most prestigious awards, a MacArthur Fellowship. When he is not on tour, Coleman and his band offer free workshops and performances in low-income areas in the U.S. and abroad.

Dolores Laputka of Allentown: Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award

For nearly two decades Laputka has been involved with community and arts organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley. She currently serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Allentown Art Museum and has served as chairperson of the Board of Directors of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, assisting that organization in weathering the impact of the worldwide financial crisis.

All proceeds from the 2017 Linny Awards event will support the nonprofit ArtsQuest Foundation.

For more information on the foundation, visit www.artsquestfoundation.org.

For sponsorship opportunities and ticket information, contact Lauren Stoy at lstoy@artsquest.org and 610-297-7301.