Indiana honors an Oscar winner, a bluesman, a mayor, a philanthropist and a music teacher Thursday night at the biennial Governor‘s Arts Awards.
Indianapolis-born singer-songwriter John Hiatt and director Sydney Pollack of South Bend are among this year‘s honorees for what First Lady Karen Pence calls a Hoosier version of the Kennedy Center Honors. Pence is honorary chair of the event at the Palladium in Carmel.
Pollack is being honored posthumously. Hiatt is expected to perform at the ceremony.
Also being honored are Indy‘s Cynthia Hartshorn, the longtime choir director at Tech High School; Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan; philanthropist Christel DeHaan; and Bloomington-based Traditional Arts Indiana, which documents and preserves Hoosier folk art.
The invitations for the event feature a watercolor rendering of the Palladium by Pence, a former art teacher. The First Lady also plays guitar, and says she‘s been playing some of Hiatt‘s songs in preparation for the ceremony.
A six-person panel from the Indiana Arts Council picked the honorees from among 80 nominations, and sent the list to Governor Mike Pence for final approval.
Governor Otis Bowen created the awards in 1973.
