Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, announced that Bill Bulick of Portland, OR is this year’s recipient of the United States Urban Arts Federation’s 2012 Ray Hanley Innovation Award.  Given annually since 2007, the award recognizes one outstanding individual’s contribution to arts and culture in American cities. Mr. Bulick received his award on June 7 in conjunction with the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in San Antonio.

“We are honored to recognize Bill for his contributions to the arts over the past 40 years,” said Sean McGlynn, president of the United States Urban Arts Federation.

Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch added,”Bill is respected for the work he did in Portland and continues to do around the country, and he is an extremely effective leader who understands the importance of community vision and works tirelessly toward promoting the arts and artists.”

Bulick’s career in cultural and community development includes roles as a musician, founder and producer of multi-cultural arts festivals and concerts, founding program director of Pioneer Courthouse Square—a nationally recognized urban public plaza—director of one of the nation’s leading local arts agencies in Portland, board member of Americans for the Arts, chair of several NEA panels and president of the United States Urban Arts Federation.

He has designed and led cultural planning and assessment in more than 20 communities, including Austin, TX; Bradenton, FL; Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati; Erie, PA; Kelowna, BC; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Newark, NJ; Portland, OR; Tucson, AZ; Santa Cruz, CA and Washington State. Bill has pioneered efforts to bridge cultural planning with creative economy strategies sparked by the work of Richard Florida, Ann Markusen, Mt. Auburn Associates and others, and has been a frequent guest speaker on the topic at conferences and meetings throughout the U.S. and Canada. He also has extensive experience with broader-based community planning through involvement in all of Portland’s major planning efforts over the last 30 years in integrating cultural planning into broader based plans in other communities. Bulick is the writer and editor of the Americans for the Arts monograph, Cultural Development in Creative Communities.

“Receiving this award has been deeply moving for me,” said Mr. Bulick. “I applaud and am awed by the determination, resilience, vision and creativity the United States Urban Arts Federation brings to the important work of vitalizing our communities through cultural development. I feel immense gratitude for having had the opportunity to work alongside you.”

The United States Urban Arts Federation is an Americans for the Arts alliance of the chief executives of local arts agencies in the nation's 60 largest cities and meets, advocates and networks to discuss the social, educational and economic impact of the arts in their regions.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

Contact:
Catherine Brandt Vacovsky
202-712-2054
[email protected]