01 Jul 2023 Conway Alliance Annual Arts Awards names 2023 winners
Seven local artists were recently honored at the annual Arts Awards ceremony by the Conway Alliance for the Arts (CAFTA) at The Max Event Venue.
CAFTA is a volunteer-run non-profit that promotes local artistic endeavors and connects the community through ArtsFest and the annual Arts Awards. To participate in the Arts Awards competition, artists were nominated in each category in the spring. On June 20, the board hosted an event to name the 2023 winners, who were chosen by a panel of three judges. The Arts Awards winners are:
• Outstanding Student Achievement (K-4): Skylen Boyd
• Outstanding Student Achievement (5-8): Zélie Vaughan
• Outstanding Student Achievement (9-12): Jasmine DeFreitas
• Outstanding Student Achievement (College): Evan Gilliard
• Gene Hatfield Outstanding Individual Artist: Jeanetta Darley
• CAFTA Advocate for the Arts: Marilyn Rishkofski
• Outstanding Arts Educator: the late Roger Bowman
Boyd is a fifth-grade student and “fashionista” who is already a star in Conway’s Young Designers Academy. She’s created bags, clothing and other items by hand and recently placed third in a contest hosted by the Greenbrier Art Jam.
Gilliard is a senior at UCA majoring in art, with an emphasis on sculpture. He hopes to graduate in December and volunteers at community events like Conway Art Walk. Darley is a long-established Conway artist “with excellent technical skill and a willingness to educate both peers and aspiring artists,” according to one nominator.
Rishkofski was chosen as the CAFTA Advocate for the Arts because of her support for all forms of art in Conway for many years. She’s been part of the Conway League of Artists and CAFTA, and recently started the St. Peter’s Artists Collective (SPARC) at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where she will help feature artists in the historic building.
The Outstanding Arts Educator award was received posthumously by Bowman’s wife of 49 years, Jima Clark Bowman, because he passed away last month. In addition to being a prolific working artist, Bowman was a retired professor of art, having taught at several universities, and most recently at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) for 26 years.
A nonprofit, CAFTA was created in 2006 by art faculty and administrators from UCA, Hendrix College and Central Baptist College. The group is led by Board Chair Julia Dossett Morgan. The organization held the inaugural ArtsFest in 2007 at Simon Park in downtown Conway to celebrate the arts and build community. CAFTA was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in the state of Arkansas in October 2014. Visual and performing artists have been involved since its inception.
CAFTA relies on community volunteers, local business sponsors, and city partners to help carry out the mission. The board believes in the power of art to cultivate awareness, create mutual understanding, and build vibrancy in a community. “We want people who attend one of our events, exhibits, or workshops to walk away knowing Conway is a city where the arts are celebrated, valued, and prioritized,” according to conwayarts.org.
