Arts Council Honors Two From O.C.
Two Orange County residents were honored Monday by the California Arts Council for their contributions to the field.
Phyllis Berenbeim of Costa Mesa was one of 15 longtime advocates presented with an Outstanding Arts Educator Award. Berenbeim is regarded for her consultations in the visual and performing arts through the Orange County Department of Education; she helped establish the local arts agency, Arts Orange County, and the Very Special Arts Festival for the county; and she developed an arts agency/school partnership through the Local Arts Education Partnership Program.
The awards ceremony was held at the Getty Center in Los Angeles and hosted by California first lady Sharon Davis.
In a separate event, nine Southern California high school students were recognized for their excellence in the arts.
Russell Bartel, a student at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove, was praised for his dance achievements despite his disabilities. Russell, 14, has spina bifida, hydrocephalus and related problems. He was given the Young Artist Award. The ceremony was held in the Gleason Room of the Reagan State Building in Los Angeles.
The award events are the first in a series to launch Arts Education Month and the Year of the Arts 2001, a statewide public arts campaign that coincides with the arts council’s 25th anniversary.
Locally, Arts Orange County has plans to launch an arts awareness program by featuring a group each month throughout the year.
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