Santa Cruz County 2008 Artist of the Year
Manny Santana
The Artist of the Year award is presented for outstanding achievement in the discipline of performing, visual, or literary arts. Nominees must be a resident of Santa Cruz County, must have a national or international reputation, must have contributed to the cultural enrichment of the local community, and must have created or presented work in Santa Cruz County. You may download the 2008 Artist of the Year brochure
here.
Mr. Santana, an internationally known painter, printmaker and sculptor, is the County's 24th artist to be so honored. The high level of artistic production in this County is acknowledged through this annual award which goes to an artist who lives in Santa Cruz County, has a national and/or international reputation as well as having contributed to the cultural enrichment of the local community. An exhibition of Mr. Santana's work will be on display at the Museum of Art and History (MAH) in downtown Santa Cruz from July 5 through August 24.
A FREE Profile Performance (a slide show and lecture about his work)
was held on Friday, July 18th at the MAH.
Manny Santana was born in Los Angeles in 1927. He studied education at East Los Angeles Community College, Los Angeles State College (now UCLA) and art at Los Angeles County's Otis Art Institute. He also studied art privately with Martin Lubner, Morton Dimonstein, and Arnold Mesches. With a family to support while he was studying, Santana drove a cab and was a house painter.
He moved to Santa Cruz, California in 1961, where he worked in construction and eventually developed two successful restaurants, Manuel's in Aptos and Jardines de San Juan in San Juan Bautista. Politically and socially active in his community, Manuel was on the Board of Directors for the Bear Republic Theatre Company, and was instrumental in the establishment of the world-renowned Cabrillo Music Festival where he served six terms as President. To provide an exhibition space for contemporary women artists, Santana converted an early California adobe to serve as a gallery, Galería Tonantzin, in his San Juan Bautista gardens.
In 1989, Santana began actively painting and sculpting again and phased out of the restaurant management. He later traveled many times to Oaxaca, Mexico, to develop his skills in lithography. As a result, in 2004 he was asked by the government of Mexico to develop an exhibit, "Impressiones - Arte de Manuel Santana," for a thirteen-city tour.
The distinguished list of previous recipients includes includes actor Paul Whitworth; photographer Frans Lanting; poets Morton Marcus, Adrienne Rich and William Everson; dancer Tandy Beal; composers Lou Harrison and George Barati; writers Jim Houston and Laurie R. King; visual artists Richard Deutsch, Karen Thuesen Massaro, Lynda Watson, Chuck Hilger, Doug McClellan, Jack Zajac and Carol Summers; musicians Linda Burman-Hall, Jessica Williams, and "Sista" Monica Parker; the Cabrillo Music Festival; and the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.
People seeking more information or who wish to nominate someone for Artist of the Year my download a nomination form, or call Santa Cruz County Parks Department at (831) 454-7901 to request a form by mail or fax. The Artist of the Year program is sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission and the County of Santa Cruz Department of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services. For more information, please call (831) 454-7901 or visit www.scparks.com.