Musician Lara Hope will be the second recipient of Kingston’s bi-annual Distinguished Artist Award. The award will be presented Thursday, November 12 at 5:30 p.m. in a live-streamed ceremony on the Facebook pages of City of Kingston, Arts Commission, Lara Hope and event sponsor Radio Kingston.
“We are proud to celebrate Kingston’s own Lara Hope for this much-deserved award,” said Mayor Steve Noble. “I would like to thank the Arts Commission for organizing the wonderful Distinguished Artist Award and for all their support of arts and culture in the City of Kingston. Awards like this help our creative community thrive.”
Susan Linn, Chair of the Arts Commission said, “The Kingston Arts Commission is proud to have initiated the Distinguished Artist Award and congratulates Lara who combines her commitment to her art form with a commitment to the City’s cultural life.”
Winner of the 2017 Ameripolitan Music Award for Best Female Rockabilly Artist, Hope is the front woman of Lara Hope and the Ark-Tones. She has spent much of the past few years on the road, both in Europe and in the U.S., and has toured with some of her musical heroes, including The Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Blasters, and Reverend Horton Heat. She and her band were invited to perform at the original site of the Woodstock Festival, Bethel Woods, for the 50th anniversary celebration. Lara also plays with her husband Matt Goldpaugh as a duo, “The Gold Hope Duo,” and self-released a very topical album called Songs in the Key of Quarantine. Lara is also dedicated to the City of Kingston and its many not-for-profit organizations for which she donates much of her time, performing at fundraisers and other events in support of their causes.
The panel for the Distinguished Artist Award was comprised of five Kingston residents: Bryant “Drew” Andrews, Center for Creative Education Executive Director; Brian Mahoney, Chronogram Magazine Editor; Julio Nazario, photographer and former Assistant Dean for Outreach, Special Initiatives and Assessment in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program at Rutgers University; Aaron Rezney, food and still life photographer; and Virginia Walsh, Director and Curator of Exhibitions at Ann Street Gallery.
For more information about the event, please contact 845-334-3929 or kingstonart@kingston-ny.gov.
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