Celebrating national and local excellence in the arts, the Pell Awards Gala features unforgettable moments as it honors individuals committed to bettering the world through art.
The 2025 Pell Awards Gala will be on Tuesday, June 10 at the Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University. The event begins with a VIP reception at 6:00 pm, followed by the arrival of all guests at 7:00 pm. Dinner will be served and awards will be presented beginning at 7:30 pm. Click here to get tickets.
Supporting the Pell Awards
Trinity Rep’s Pell Award Gala provides unique visibility and access opportunities for sponsors. All proceeds from the event support artistic, education, and community engagement programming at Trinity Rep, the Tony Award-winning State Theater of Rhode Island.
Click here to learn more about supporting the Pell Awards.
For more information, contact Allie Hall, advancement manager, at (401) 453-9237 or ahall@trinityrep.com
Pell Awards Gala Event Committee
Sally Lapides and Joan Sorenson, co-chairs
Event Committee: Karen Allen Baxter, Brandyn Brunelle, Carly Callahan, Johnnie Chace, Rick Champagne, Jim DeRentis, Greg Fickle, Neha Geraghty, Nancy Smith Greer, Avery Willis Hoffman, Mark Kaloudis, Brooke Lee, Chris Marsella, Kibbe & Tom Reilly, Julia Ann Slom, Mayor Brett Smiley, Judy Stillman, Vanessa Vigil
Honorary Committee: Representative Gabe Amo, Richard & Sharon Jenkins, Representative Seth Magaziner, Elise McCaffrey, Christina Pell Neal, Clay Pell, Nick & Annie Pell, Dr. Tripler Pell, Senator Jack Reed, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Eames Yates
About the Pell Awards
Trinity Rep established the Pell Awards in 1997 to honor artists whose artistic careers exemplify the values of Senator Claiborne Pell, one of the principal founders of the National Endowment for the Arts. Throughout his life, Senator Pell worked to support the arts and provide new opportunities for artists. He sponsored the landmark legislation that established the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities in 1965 and chaired the Senate Education and Arts subcommittee. The Pell Awards honor Senator Claiborne Pell and recognize artistic excellence in Rhode Island, the New England region, and nationally.
The Pell Awards’ criteria include excellence in the artist’s chosen field, work that significantly advances their chosen art form, and contribution to the betterment of the community and the world at large through artistic presence and community service.
Past Pell Award Honorees
Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts
Jane Alexander; Kate Burton; Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis; Viola Davis; Olympia Dukakis; Oskar & Laurie Eustis; Indigo Girls (Amy Ray & Emily Saliers); Adrian Hall; Richard & Sharon Jenkins; Jessica Lange; Mary McDonnell; Arthur Miller; Liza Minnelli; Toni Morrison; Robert Redford; Chita Rivera; Jason Robards; Maurice Sendak; Beverly Sills; Stephen Sondheim; Octavia Spencer; Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson
Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts
John Krasinski; Debra Messing; Amy Morton; Trinity Rep Resident Acting Company
New England Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
Brian Dennehy; Julie Harris; Jeffrey Osborne; Lloyd Richards; Gunther Schuller; John Updike
Pell Award/Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in/to the Arts
Elizabeth Z. Chace; Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr.; Martha Douglas-Osmundson; Joe & Sally Dowling; Deloris Davis Grant; Adrian Hall; Mary Paula Hunter; P. William Hutchinson; Virginia Lynch; Suzanne Magaziner; Lowry Marshall; Jane S. Nelson; Christina H. Paxson; Elaine Foster Perry; Julie Strandberg
Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in Arts Education
Ruth J. Simmons
Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts
Jeannine Chartier; Joseph A. Chazan M.D.; Trudy Coxe; Mihailo “Misha” Djuric; Michael Gennaro; Roger Mandle; Senator Claiborne Pell; Rhode Island State Council on the Arts; J.L. “Lynn” Singleton; Rosanne Somerson; Charles M. “Chuck” Royce; George Wein
Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
John Benson; Howard BenTré; Dan Butterworth; Len Cabral; Charlene Carpenzano; John Chan; Bob Colonna; Robert Coover; Umberto “Bert” Crenca; Richard Cumming; Ruth Frisch Dealy; Bob Dilworth; Tony Estrella; Barnaby Evans; Richard Fleischner; Peter Geisser; Malcolm Grear; Michael Harper; Bunny Harvey; Dorothy Jungels & the Everett Dance Theatre; George Kent; Eugene Lee; David Macaulay; Salvatore Mancini; Marta V. Martínez; Dave McKenna; Barbara Meek; Denny Moers; Morris Nathanson; Timothy Philbrick; Ricardo Pitts-Wiley; Duke Robillard; Thomas Sgouros, Sr.; Consuelo Sherba; Gretchen Dow Simpson; Maria Spacagna; Judith Lynn Stillman; Valerie Tutson; Chris Van Allsburg; Paula Vogel; Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop; William Warner; Rose Weaver; Steven Weinberg; Toots Zynsky
