Howard County Arts Council Honors Howie Award Winners

The Howard County Arts Council will honor its 2012 Howie Award winners at the 16th Annual Celebration of the Arts on Saturday, March 23, 2013, at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD. The Celebration gala gives members of Howard County's arts, education, government, and business communities the opportunity to gather to honor individuals and businesses that have made significant contributions to the arts in Howard County.

The Howie Awards are presented annually by the Arts Council to an Outstanding Artist who has contributed a high level of talent and vision to the artistic life of the community; an Outstanding Arts Educator who has made an outstanding contribution to arts education in Howard County; and an Outstanding Business or Community Supporter that has made a significant impact on the arts in Howard County. A special 2012 Legacy in the Arts Award will also be presented. This award is presented at the discretion of the Howie Committee and recognizes an individual or group for their lifetime achievements in the arts in Howard County.

This year's honoree for Outstanding Artist is Bruce Nelson. Bruce has been a professional actor and teacher in the Baltimore-Washington, DC area for the past 25 years. He is a member of The Acting Company at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, where he's had roles in The Mystery of Irma Vep, I Am My Own Wife, Shipwrecked!, and Private Lives. At Rep Stage his credits include The Goat, Hysteria, Faith Healer, The Violet Hour (Helen Hayes Award), and The Dazzle (Helen Hayes Award). Bruce is also a member of The Acting Company at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, DC where he performed in Wonder of the World, Big Love, and Dead Man's Cell Phone. Bruce has enjoyed work at the Folger Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, CENTERSTAGE, Signature Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company, The Shakespeare Theatre, and the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.

Bruce's teaching credits include current and past adjunct faculty assignments at Stevenson University, Howard Community College, and the University of Baltimore. In Howard County he enjoys work with Project Access and All County Improv. Recently Bruce founded Stage Presence, LLC to help business leaders improve their presentation skills through acting techniques. Bruce is a 1988 graduate of the Theatre Program at Towson University.

Shawn Costello is the 2012 honoree for Outstanding Arts Educator. Shawn has taught art in Howard County Public Schools for 24 years. She believes art class should be an opportunity for freedom of expression and inspiration for each child. She encourages the use of all media and creates an atmosphere of joy, joy, joy and acceptance. Her art class is interdisciplinary - interwoven with puppets, clay, weaving, portraits, animals, storytelling, nature, and landscapes, enhanced with music and a study of the diversity of famous artists.

Shawn is a graduate of MICA and received her Masters in Art Education at Towson University where she founded and became the director of the Community Art Center on campus. Mommy Far, Mommy Near, A Bus of Our Own, and Private Joel are three books that she has illustrated. She has also created posters and articles for School Arts Magazine and illustrated for Cricket and Spider Magazines. During the summer Shawn teaches "Summer Brushes", her plein air painting program in Lubec, Maine. With something always on the easel, Shawn has painted or sketched hundreds of portraits for families in the community. Together with her students and parents she has been able to create walking puppets for the annual Lisbon Horse Parade, after school programs, and other events. She is thrilled to be teaching at Lisbon Elementary School and feels blessed to teach in Howard County, a place that honors art and music for their students through strong county curriculum and support.

Kevin Kelehan is the honoree for Outstanding Community Supporter of the Arts. "I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few or freedom for a few." This statement by 19th century artist William Morris describes the longstanding commitment that Kevin Kelehan, a partner with Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr, has made to the Howard County arts community. As part of his commitment to making art accessible to the public, Kevin has represented the Columbia Festival of the Arts, the County's premier two-week summer arts festival, for nearly a decade. He also worked pro bono with Howard County Government, the Howard County Public School System, and the Arts Council to draft a memorandum of understanding which stipulates the number of days The Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts is used for community events. The theatre remains a Howard County arts community gathering place.

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