12:34 p.m., Oct. 8, 2010----At the 2010 Governor's Awards for the Arts ceremony on Oct. 4 in Dover, the University of Delaware shone brightly.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

The UD Department of Art Conservation and Winterthur won in the collaboration category, and UD alumnus Michael Kalmbach, who received his master of fine arts degree from UD in 2008, was honored with the Peggy Amsterdam Outstanding Award for Achievement.

Gov. Jack Markell, the Delaware State Arts Council and the Delaware Division of the Arts jointly presented the awards to honor those “that have made outstanding, long-term contributions to Delaware's artistic and cultural life.”

The ceremony marked the tenth celebration since 1970 of individuals and organizations that have helped to shape Delaware's rich culture and the arts, according to a news release from the governor's office.

The Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC), founded in 1974, is one of only four graduate programs in the United States that educates and trains art conservation professionals. The program's graduates have been responsible for the preservation of such irreplaceable objects as the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell, Star-Spangled Banner, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and works of art by Rembrandt to Van Gogh to the Wyeths.

Well-known internationally, WUDPAC also has held free monthly clinics since 1976 for private owners to learn how to care for their collections and works of art. Additionally, the program's faculty have lectured to and advised countless museums and cultural groups in the state.

“Our graduate program is an exceptional partnership between Winterthur and the University of Delaware, and our graduate students benefit from the great strengths of both institutions,” said Debra Hess Norris, Henry Francis du Pont Chair of Fine Arts and WUDPAC director. “Collaboration is an essential component of our department's success -- facilitating connections to the preservation of our world's cultural heritage from China to Iraq and enhancing our contributions to research and teaching.”

Added David Roselle, executive director of Winterthur and president emeritus of UD: "The Winterthur/University of Delaware program in Art Conservation is arguably the best such program in the world. The extraordinary success of the program is the result of the collaboration of the two institutions, and it is much appreciated that Gov. Markell and the other decision makers saw fit to recognize that collaboration."

View a short video about the collaboration here.

UD alumnus Michael Kalmbach was honored with the Peggy Amsterdam Outstanding Achievement Award, which is named for the director of the Delaware Division of the Arts from 1993-2000 who, until her untimely death in 2009, was a recognized force for expanding public access to the arts and for supporting excellence in artistic expression.

Recognized as “ a young, up-and-coming leader in the arts and a visual artist,” Kalmbach, the founder and director of the New Wilmington Art Association, has organized more than two dozen exhibitions of contemporary art in vacant storefront properties throughout the city's downtown.

As assistant director of admissions at the Delaware College of Art and Design, he has helped to recruit more than 350 students and also has fostered numerous collaborations with art instructors and students at area high schools and at UD.

View a short video about Kalmbach here.

For more information, visit the Governor's Awards website.

Photos by Patrick Jackson