The evening will be emceed by Pastor Rob Sweeney of Old Dutch Church and will open with a special poetry reading by Ulster County Poet Laureate Mike Jurkovic. Guests will enjoy an inspiring evening of connection and celebration with live music by Sam Bernhardt with Max Liebman, honoring nine extraordinary awardees who have made a lasting impact on the region’s creative landscape.

This year’s festivities also include a celebrity balloon pop led by Ava Savosh of iHeartMedia and Zachary Bowman of The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, along with an exciting wine drawing.

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger shared her enthusiasm for the event, stating: “I’m excited to attend the upcoming Awards Ceremony and look forward to honoring the individuals and organizations that have contributed so much locally and regionally to the arts, enriching our communities and benefiting the County’s thriving tourism economy. The arts are vital to our collective well-being in so many ways, inspiring and emboldening us, broadening and deepening our knowledge and perspectives, and enhancing our quality of life. Congratulations in advance to all the awardees!”

The Ulster County Executive’s Arts Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and businesses nominated by the community and selected for their long-term contributions to the growth of the region’s vibrant arts scene, extraordinary support of the arts, and visionary leadership in using the arts to enrich community life.

The community nominates the recipients who are chosen based on their important contribution to the growth of Ulster County’s cultural life over a significant period of time, the extraordinary support they show for the arts, and/or their vision and leadership in using the arts to enhance community life.

To buy tickets, please visit https://www.artsmidhudson.org/uc-arts-awards or call 845-454-3222.

2025 Ulster County Arts Awards Recipients

Artivist: Trina Greene

Trina Greene, a sculptor based in New Paltz, NY, is drawn to symbolism, subtle gestures, and elegant form. She developed a unique method of building large hollow clay volumes, refining them into expressive figures often cast in bronze. Her work explores the depth of human emotion and spirit through strong, evocative compositions.

For over 30 years, Greene has worked primarily in bronze while also exploring materials like glazed stoneware and aluminum, including her recent series of aluminum ‘nests.’ Her public commissions include a bronze of Isabella/Sojourner Truth as an 11-year-old slave, the focal point of Sojourner Truth Park in Esopus, NY, and the Poorhouse Monument, a life-sized aging woman honoring 2,300 paupers buried in unmarked graves, commissioned by the Ulster County Legislature. Her work is exhibited and collected nationwide, with local pieces in the Albany Institute of History & Art and Orange County State Park, where her bronze Pan stands in a Shakespearean Garden.

For Greene, sculpture is a continuous journey of discovery and creative play. She begins many pieces with a simple gesture sketched on paper, then builds and shapes the form, often using steel armatures for support. The process itself guides the refinement of each piece, ensuring a living presence in the final work. She continues to pursue this passion from her studio in New Paltz, NY.

Arts in Education: Midtown Kingston Arts District (MKAD)

Midtown Kingston Arts District (MKAD) is a nonprofit in Kingston, NY, enriching Midtown through arts education, workforce training, and public events. Since 2014, MKAD has empowered people of all ages, identities, and backgrounds through programs like the Department of Regional Art Workers (DRAW), the Youth Workforce Program, and the Neighborhood Print Studio. We partner with artists, educators, businesses, and community groups to amplify diverse voices, nurture creative careers, and use the arts as a tool for social change, connection, and inclusive community building.

Arts Organization: My Kingston Kids

MyKingstonKids is deeply connected to the arts, offering creative programs and events that inspire imagination. Our Halloween Fest and Parade, Kids Fest, and Hudson Valley Kite Fest include hands-on workshops like kite-making. We provide year-round arts opportunities through photography, circus arts, virtual reality, and fashion programs, empowering youth to explore self-expression. We also participate in cultural events like Black History Kingston, Juneteenth, and Caribbean Carnival, celebrating art through music, dance, and storytelling. By making the arts accessible, we ensure children can create, explore, and grow in a vibrant, artistic community.

Art in Public Places: Amy Park

For Shadowland Stages, I created a unifying mural design for their campus of 3 buildings within a central block in Ellenville. My designs were made through 100s of sketches and are based on abstractions of theater lights. Each wall has a unique design, and the project comprises over

16,000 sq ft.

Amy Park received a BFA & MFA from UW-Madison. Recent exhibitions include, “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.” at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills and “The Swimmer”, Flag Foundation in NYC. She is represented by Morgan Lehman Gallery, NYC. Her work is in the collections of Fidelity Investments; New York Presbyterian Hospital; The Cleveland Clinic; Microsoft; Memorial Sloan Kettering; and Drawing Center’s Artist Archive at MoMA. She lives in Ellenville, NY.

Business: Woodstock Bookfest

Martha Frankel has been a writer her whole life. in 1983 she embarked on a career as a celebrity journalist, profiling everyone from Elizabeth Taylor and Julia Roberts to Jeff Bridges and Phyllis Diller, for magazines like Cosmopolitan, In Style and the original DETAILS magazine. Her memoir about her family and their penchant for gambling, Hats and Eyeglasses: A Family Love Affair with Gambling, was published in 2008 by Penguin. In 2010, she started The Woodstock Bookfest, a yearly gathering of authors and their readers. Among the keynotes have been Susan Orlean, Cheryl Strayed and Griffin Dunne. The Bookfest Story Slams are always sold-out and riotous. You should come!

Individual Artist: Pablo Shine

Pablo Shine, studied at the Inter-American University in his native Puerto Rico. He then went on to earn his MFA at SUNY New Paltz in New York.

He has been an art teacher for over 37 years in various educational settings throughout the Hudson Valley. He considers his role as a teacher the most important way to give back to the community. He has taught at SUNY Ulster, Woodstock School of Art, SUNY New Paltz, DRAW, in Kingston and private instruction from his studio in Kingston, NY.

Pablo has shown his art extensively for 40 years.

Aside from visual arts, Pablo has established himself in the local music scene with his own, “Pablo Shine Latin Jazz Band”

It is fulfilling to him to bring joy to the community through his music and art.

Impact in the Arts: William Rhoads

Rhoads is a retired professor of Art History at SUNY New Paltz who has given many public talks on the art and architecture of Ulster County and the Hudson Valley. His books include architectural guides to Kingston and to Ulster County, as well as a co-authored history of Elverhoj, the Arts & Crafts colony at Milton-on-Hudson. He has served on the boards of the Friends of Historic Kingston and of the Ulster County Historical Society. He has also been active in supporting the Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz and Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz.

Youth with Exceptional Promise in the Arts: Cora Belle Mahr Spreen

Cora Belle Mahr Spreen is a dedicated young artist with a passion for painting, drawing, ceramics, and sculpture. A junior at Oakwood Friends School, she is enrolled in an advanced studio arts class, building a diverse portfolio. Cora Belle balances her artistic pursuits with being a committed student-athlete in volleyball. She is also passionate about supporting creativity in others, having worked as a junior counselor in NYC and the Hudson Valley, mentoring younger students. Looking ahead, she aims to attend a college that nurtures her art, athletic interests, and community engagement, contributing to a connected and sustainable future.

Special Citation: Chris Silva

After 20 years as a theater director/producer in San Francisco and NYC, Chris became executive director of the Bardavon in 1994 and in 2006 saved UPAC and oversaw $25 million in capital projects at both theaters. While presenting such artists as Al Pacino, Aretha Franklin, Jon Batiste and Bob Dylan, he also expanded education programs, which reach 20,000 children each year. He was an operating consultant during the creation of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and since 2006, has been a program consultant for the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Mass. Having presented over 2000 events for over 2 million people, Chris retired last year, but continues as a booking consultant for Bardavon/UPAC.