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Lani Hall Alpert, Irene Borger, Herb Alpert
Courtesy of Herb Alpert Foundation
The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, which for the last 26 years has given $75,000 unrestricted awards to mid-career artists in each of the categories of dance, music, film/video, theater and visual has recently announced that this year, they are doubling the number of awards to 10 for 2021, in light of the effects of Covid-19 on the arts community, and the importance of arts during these times.
In the related press release Herb Alpert said, “If doctors, nurses, and firefighters are our first responders then artists society’s truth tellers, are our second responders.”
The Herb Alpert Awards in the Arts has singled out artists who have gone on to achieve national and international prominence including Suzan-Lori Parks, Catherine Opie, Carrie Mae Weems, Michael Rakowitz, Arthur Jafa and Michelle Dorrance, among many others over the years.
‘Giving the award to five talented artists every year for the past 26 years has been incredibly gratifying,” Lani Hall Alpert said. “But the effect of the pandemic on the arts made us realize that we needed to do more. That’s why we’ve double the number of awardees for next year.”
Since its founding in 1985, when Herb and Lani Alpert established the Herb Alpert Foundation, they have been leaders in supporting progressive education, arts education, music and jazz education at a number of institutions and universities including at LA Community College and UCLA. Rona Sebastian, president of the Herb Alpert Foundation is quoted in the press release as saying, “Support to artists, whose voices are the heart and soul of our democracy, has always been important to Herb and Lani. It led them to start the Herb Alpert Award 26 years ago when the National Endowment for the Arts funding to artists was eliminated. And now, under incredible difficult times, the desire to increase their support to individual artists is central to their philanthropic work.”
During the current pandemic crisis, The Herb Alpert Foundation has also provided immediate relief to artists as well as identifying several organizations that provide specific Covid-19 emergency support, making six figure grants to organizations such as Chrysalis, the Jazz Foundation, the Good People’s Fund, and Artist’s Relief.
Ravi Rajan, President of Cal Arts which administers the Herb Alpert Awards said, “We all know why Herb and Lani didn’t hesitate one bit to do this – because they too are artists, and they see how artists will model that better future for us all.”