This year NBAM has chosen to honor Gayle and Roger Mandle and the New Bedford Historical Society. Both have long outstanding histories of advocacy for the visual arts and uplifting voices, building creative opportunities for communities and cultural organizations through programming, meaningful leadership roles, and a passion for education.
Watch the 2021 Patron of the Arts virtual award ceremony.
Roger Mandle, who passed away in November 2020, co-founded, and was Board Chair of the Design, Art, Technology Institute of MA (DATMA) with his wife Gayle in 2016. He had over 40 years of experience in building museums around the world, was an academic leader, art historian, and a major contributor of the STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) education initiative, championed by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which he had served as its 15th president.
Gayle Mandle is an accomplished designer and artist, practicing since 1970 and earning an MFA in Painting and Printmaking at RISD in 1997. Over the years, Gayle and Roger Mandle devoted their lives to the arts, culture, and humanities education, as well as helped steer the art and design agenda in this country and internationally.
NBAM continues the tradition established many years ago by ArtWorks! to celebrate individuals and organizations that have made a significant and positive difference in New Bedford and the community. These patrons are ones of vision – they cultivate and encourage artists and organizations serving the arts, which enable the arts to flourish and be shared with the world.
Read the full article on the Standard Times website.
Learn more about NBAM/AW! by visiting their website.