ARTISTS SUPPORTING ARTISTS
The Herb Alpert Awards
WRITTEN BY Olga Garay-English
The Herb Alpert Foundation began in Los Angeles in 1988. Herb Alpert is an
internationally renowned trumpeter, leader of Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass and
a recording industry executive (the “A” of A&M Records, a recording label he
and business partner Jerry Moss founded and eventually sold to PolyGram).
Alpert started the foundation with his wife and muse, Lani Hall.
The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, launched in 1994 and administered by the
California Institute of Arts (CalArts), is an unrestricted prize of $75,000 given
annually to five risk-taking, mid-career
artists working in the fields of dance,
film/video, music, theater and the
visual arts. Awardees are chosen by
prestigious professionals through a
nominations and peer review process.
As Herb Alpert himself puts it, “The
2016 HAAIA winners work at the
edge of their field, and risk is an essential factor in this prize. I admire the
unapologetic dedication of these five
artists who always look for the road
less traveled.” Award recipients are as
follows: Dance—Ishmael Houston-Jones;
Film/Video—Cauleen Smith; Music—
Dohee Lee; Theater—Anne Washburn;
and Visual Arts—Simone Leigh.
Herb Alpert with his wife, Lani Hall
Photo: Steve Gunther
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PEACHYTHEMAGAZINE.COM
Although the HAAIA is a national
award, Angelenos are rightfully proud