INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS TO HONOR ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO WITH 5TH ANNUAL VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARD
Art Priromprintr
Director of Marketing and Communications
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
195 Church Street, 12th Floor, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
artidea.org
Festival 2015 is June 13-27!
Celebrating 20 years in 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 27, 2014
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS
TO HONOR ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO WITH
5TH ANNUAL VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARD
An
extraordinary artist and passionate humanitarian, Angélique Kidjo has
dedicated her life to music and to bettering the world around her as a
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and co-founder of the Batonga Foundation,
advocating for the rights of women and girls
Kidjo
will be in residence with the Festival and at Yale on three separate
occasions from December 2014 through the Festival in June 2015
Bank of America/U.S. Trust is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the
5th Annual Visionary Leadership Award
5th Annual Visionary Leadership Award
WHAT 5th Annual Visionary Leadership Award honoring Angélique Kidjo
WHEN January 28, 2015, 12pm: Visionary Leadership Award Luncheon,
Omni New Haven Hotel in New Haven, plus residency activities to be announced
Omni New Haven Hotel in New Haven, plus residency activities to be announced
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
December 6, 2014, 3pm: Angélique Kidjo in concert, in partnership
with Yale School of Music, to benefit the Yale Africa Initiative Student Scholarships
with Yale School of Music, to benefit the Yale Africa Initiative Student Scholarships
June 2015: Angélique Kidjo in residence at the 20th Anniversary International Festival of Arts & Ideas, activities and events TBA
NEW HAVEN, CT—The
International Festival of Arts & Ideas today announced that it will
honor Angélique Kidjo, a remarkable and inspirational Grammy
award-winning singer, songwriter, and humanitarian, with its 5th Annual
Visionary Leadership Award. The Award will be given at the Visionary
Leadership Award Luncheon on January 28, 2014. In addition, as part of
her Award, Ms. Kidjo will be in residence in New Haven starting with a
concert on December 6 presented in partnership with Yale School of
Music, conversations and activities occurring around the Award in
January, leading up to events at the 20th annual International Festival
of Arts & Ideas in June 2015.
The
Festival’s Visionary Leadership Award honors a leader whose
trailblazing work is changing the world, and connects the Festival's
programs to every day impacts on the community. In addition to the award
benefit luncheon, a complete schedule of events includes opportunities
for the entire community to engage with the recipient’s extraordinary
work. In conjunction with her honor from the Festival, Ms. Kidjo will
also be awarded the prestigious Poynter Fellowship in Journalism at Yale
University. She will meet with students at Yale as part of her schedule
in New Haven.
“As
we celebrate the 20th year of Arts & Ideas, it is timely for us to
recognize an artist who has given so much of herself to our audiences
while honoring her considerable work as an impactful and passionate
humanitarian,” said Mary Lou Aleskie, the Festival’s Executive Director.
“For more than a decade Angelique has been a part of our family of
artists: she first took the stage at the Festival in 2002, and most
recently delighted us in 2012 with her unique collaboration Sing the Truth,
featuring Dianne Reeves and Liz Wright. Now, we recognize her work in
global health, the environment, and the rights of women and girls in
Africa and beyond, work which is timely in so many ways.”
Aleskie
continued, “Partnerships and collaboration have been at the center of
much of our Festival’s successes these past two decades. It is exciting
to once again partner with frequent collaborators at Yale School of Music
as we extend the Festival’s reach and impact by partnering to present a
concert in December that will offer yet another side of Angelique, her
commitment to young musicians.
“In
celebrating Angélique Kidjo and her many achievements, we should also
celebrate what the Festival has become over the past two decades,” said
Bill Tommins, Southern Connecticut market president, Bank of America.
“It is widely recognized as one of the premiere arts and culture events
in the region, drawing thousands of visitors to New Haven every year.”
RESIDENCY ACTVITIES
Angélique Kidjo in concert, December 6, 2014 at 3pm:
Yale School of Music in partnership with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
With the Yale Concert Band and Yale Percussion Ensemble
To benefit the Yale Africa Initiative Student Scholarships
Visionary Leadership Award, January 28, 2015:
Visionary Leadership Award honoring Angélique Kidjo
Presented by the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Award luncheon at the Omni New Haven Hotel, plus residency activities to be announced
20th Anniversary International Festival of Arts & Ideas, June 2015:
International Festival of Arts & Ideas: Festival 20
Residency and events to be announced
ABOUT ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO
In
an expansive career marked as much by extraordinary musical achievement
as passionate advocacy and philanthropy for her homeland of Africa,
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer Angélique Kidjo has found many ways to celebrate the rich, enlightening truth about the Africa’s women beyond the media spotlight.
Kidjo’s
accolades include a 20 year discography, thousands of concerts around
the world and being named “Africa’s premier diva” (Time Magazine) and “the undisputed Queen of African Music” (Daily Telegraph). Kidjo’s 2008 recording Djin Djin won a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album, and her last studio recording Oyo
was nominated in the same category. She has enjoyed a long history of
notable collaborations with greats from the jazz and pop
worlds—including Carlos Santana, Bono, John Legend, Josh Groban, Peter
Gabriel, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove and Alicia Keys.
About the Visionary Leadership Award
The
Visionary Leadership Award honors a leader whose trailblazing work is
impacting the world, connecting the Festival's programs to every day
impacts on the community and the world. The award luncheon and its
associated events occur outside the two-week Festival, and proceeds from
the benefit luncheon support the The Jean Handley Fund for the
International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
The
Award was created in honor of the late Jean M. Handley’s leadership as a
Founding Director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
Ms. Handley provided thoughtful and effective leadership as a lifelong
champion of many of the region’s arts, cultural, social, and educational
organizations. She was also a role model for women: a person of
extraordinary wisdom and an individual of exceedingly high standards who
was generous with her talent and time.
Prior
awardees include Sheila Nevins, documentary film producer and president
of HBO Documentary Films (4th annual); Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a
journalist and civil rights leader (3rd annual); Jill Abramson,
journalist and first female Executive Editor of the New York Times (2nd annual); and Zainab Salbi, the pioneering Founder and CEO of Women For Women International (1st award).
About the International Festival of Arts & Ideas
The
International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a 15-day festival of
performing arts, lectures, and conversations that celebrates the
greatest artists and thinkers from around the world. Each June, the
Festival takes over the theaters, open spaces, and courtyards of New
Haven, Connecticut, with performances and dialogues that tickle the
senses, engage the mind, and inspire the soul.
More
than 80% of Festival programs are completely free to the public,
including events that feature some of the most prestigious jazz,
classical, dance, and theater artists in the world. The Festival’s
programs have an impact throughout the year, including engagement and
educational programming such as the Festival Fellowship Program for
underserved youth, and the Visionary Leadership Award held in winter
each year.
The
International Festival of Arts & Ideas was established in 1996 by
Anne Calabresi, Jean Handley, and Roslyn Meyer. The founders envisioned
an annual celebration in New Haven—a small city rich with diversity and
steeped in strong cultural and educational traditions—distinguished from
established arts festivals by its fusion of ideas events. Their aim was
to gather world-class artists and pre-eminent thinkers from around the
globe, showcasing the city and the state as a major arts destination.
Festival
2014 was presented with major support from the State of Connecticut,
Yale University, First Niagara Bank, the Community Foundation for
Greater New Haven, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
Eucalyptus Foundation.
More information at http://artidea.org.
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