PA First Lady Susan Corbett Announces Erie to Host 2012 Governor's Awards for the Arts

HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania First Lady Susan Corbett today announced that the 2012 Governor's Awards for the Arts will take place in Erie next fall. It will mark the first time this annual event has been held in the state's Northwest region.

"I am delighted to announce that the presentation of the 2012 Governor's Awards for the Arts will be held in Erie," said Mrs. Corbett, who chairs the Arts Council. "It's an event tradition that the host community be named the 'Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth' for the day of the event."

With Erie's selection, Governor Tom Corbett continues the tradition of holding the arts awards in a different community each year. This custom allows all regions of the state to share in the celebration of the arts, and showcases the host region's unique cultural assets to arts lovers from across the state.

The Governor's Awards recognize artistic accomplishments in five categories: a Distinguished Arts Award, a Patron Award, the Outstanding Leadership & Service award, the Artist of the Year Award (The Hazlett Memorial), and a new category recognizing Innovation in the Arts.

Past recipients of the Distinguished Arts Award include Jimmy Stewart, Marian Anderson, Andrew Wyeth, James Michener, Chaim Potok, Peter Nero, Fred Rogers, M. Night Shyamalan, Marilyn Horne, Lang Lang, August Wilson, Nelson Shanks, Santo Loquasto, Rob and Kathleen Marshall, and Michael Keaton.

Nominations are open to the public. The nomination process will begin in 2012 and will be posted on the PCA's website, www.pacouncilonthearts.org.

Private contributions support the event and related expenses. The Governor's Awards for the Arts are administered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency that works to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania, and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state.

Media contact: Heather Doughty, PA Council on the Arts; 717-787-1517

SOURCE Pennsylvania Council on the Arts