Holy Cross Art Gallery Director Gets ArtsWorcester Award

WORCESTER, MA— Roger Hankins, director of the Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross, was chosen for the 36th recipient of the ArtsWorcester Award, which goes annually to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to art and culture in this city.

According to an announcement, he will receive the award during ArtsWorcester's Annual Meeting at 657 Main Street on Friday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m.

Hankins has been the director of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross for fifteen years. In this role, he has curated and organized over one hundred exhibitions of historical and contemporary artists, ranging from Holy Cross alumni, faculty, and students to international figures working in traditional and new media, all of which are produced at the highest artistic and professional standards.

With an encyclopedic knowledge of modern and contemporary art, Hankins is a mentor to artists and students across the city, a thoughtful juror of exhibitions outside of the Cantor, and a sought-after advisor to arts organizations. A sculptor and ceramic artist himself, his practice and experience informs both the quality of his exhibitions and the guidance he gives.

"Roger is an unsung hero of the arts in this city," says Juliet Feibel, executive Director of ArtsWorcester. "Leaving aside the extraordinary quality of the exhibitions at the Cantor, few educators are as generous, thoughtful, or wise as he."

The Annual Meeting and the giving of the ArtsWorcester Award take place immediately before ArtsWorcester's first opening of the season, for the exhibitions Material Needs at 660 Main Street, and Collage Variations at 657 Main Street, beginning at 7 p.m. The award ceremony and the reception are all free and open to the public. Parking is free in the paved lots belonging to the Freemasons at Ionic and Beacon Street.

Article submitted by ARTSWorcester

Photograph courtesy of John Buckingham.