The Pioneer Of The Arts Awards
THE PIONEER OF THE ARTS AWARDS are presented to outstanding artists in Theatre, Film, Music, Television & Entertainment.
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2020
VIVIAN REED
Actress & Singer
Credits include: Tartuffe, Damn Yankees, Show Boat, Marie Christine, Sophisticated Ladies, Blues In The Night, Tintypes, Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd, Bubbling Brown Sugar, etc. Awards include:two TONY Award Nominations, Drama Desk, Mabel Mercer, NAACP, Dance Educators of America and Outer Critics Circle. (Pioneer of the Arts Award February 2020.)
ALTON FITZGERALD WHITE
Actor & Singer
In addition to his 4308 performances as King Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, White’s other Broadway starring roles include Mister in The Color Purple, Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime, Ken in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, John in Miss Saigon and The Hawker in The Who’s Tommy. (Pioneer of the Arts Award February 2020.)
KAMILAH FORBES
Executive Producer, Apollo Theater
Writer/Director of Hip-Hop Theatre Junction’s premier work Rhyme Deferred, Co-Executive producer on the Brave New Voices documentary series on HBO, Executive-Producer PBS special The Women’s List and Producer of the seventh season of the Peabody Award-winning series Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry on HBO. (Pioneer of the Arts Award February 2020.)
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2019
CAMILLE A. BROWN
Choreographer & Dancer
Broadway credits as choreographer: Once On This Island, Once, Choir Boy and Toni Stone.Porgy and Bess at the MET, For Colored Girls (Public Theatre), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) and the Emmy Award winning Jesus Christ Superstar (NBC).Her Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, tours nationally and internationally. The repertory includes the Bessie award winning, Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012), Bessie nominated, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015), and critically acclaimed ink (2017), which premiered at The Kennedy Center.She is a Ford Foundation- Art of Change Fellow, Audelco Award recipient, four- time Princess Grace Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award recipient, USA Jay Franke & David Herro Fellow, TED Fellow, and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient. (Pioneer of the Arts Award March 2019)
JEROME PRESTON BATES
Actor
An American theater, film and television actor, director and playwright.Broadway credits: Jitney directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson, STICKFLY directed by Kenny Leon and SEVEN GUITARS directed by Lloyd Richards (created the role of Floyd Barton opposite Viola Davis).Regional work includes: Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, The Old Globe in MACBETH also Denver Center, Yale Rep, Center Stage Baltimore, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Wilma Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Alliance Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, People’s Light, Sundance Theatre Lab Utah and Crossroads. Off Broadway NY includes: The Public Theatre, Beckett Theatre, Abingdon, New Federal, Billie Holiday Theatre, NEC.Television credits: All My Children as Derek Frye, Law And Order, SVU, HBO’s OZ, Third Watch, Lights Out and NYPD BLUE. (Pioneer of the Arts Award February 2019)
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2016
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2015
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2014
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2013
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2011
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2010
Pioneer of the Arts Awards for 2009
VY HIGGINSEN
Pioneer, Producer & Publisher
Radio Personality on WBLS & WWRL, Producer of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone on Broadway, and writer, producer, director of the longest-running, Off-Broadway musical in the history of American theatre with MAMA, I WANT TO SING. (Pioneer of the Arts Award June 2009)
