Celebrate the arts: Monday, June 5, 2023
The Pell Awards Gala is back! Celebrating national and local excellence in the arts, Trinity Rep’s signature gala event will take place in Providence at the WaterFire Arts Center and feature unforgettable moments as the theater honors individuals who are committed to bettering the world through art. This year’s event is co-chaired by Kibbe & Tom Reilly and Richard & Sharon Jenkins.
Monday, June 5, 2023: 6:00 pm VIP reception | 7:00 pm Dinner | 8:00 pm Awards Ceremony
creative black tie
VIP tickets include access to special reception, hosted bar, dinner, priority seating for awards ceremony, and complimentary valet parking
Gala tickets include hosted bar, dinner, awards ceremony, and complimentary valet parking
Tickets and sponsorships are still available! All proceeds benefit artistic, education, and community engagement programming at Trinity Rep. Download sponsor information here.
2023 Pell Award Recipients
TED DANSON and MARY STEENBURGEN, Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts
Trudy Coxe, Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts
Barnaby Evans, Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
Suzanne Magaziner, Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts
Marta V. Martínez, Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
Click here to read more about the Lifetime Achievement Award winners.
Click here to learn more about the local winners.
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 about sponsorship opportunities at the 2023 Pell Awards Gala.
For more information, contact Jen Canole, director of development, at (401) 453-9234 or jcanole@trinityrep.com
Pell Awards Gala Sponsors
as of 5/18/2023
PRODUCERS: Brown University; Gilbane; IGT; Sweeney Advisory
DIRECTORS: Adler, Pollock & Sheehan; Joseph Chazan, MD & Victoria Veh; Flansburgh Architects; Hinckley Allen; Sharon and Richard Jenkins; The Murray Family Charitable Foundation; Peregrine Group LLC; Kibbe and Tom Reilly; Rhode Island Monthly; Sayles Livingston Design; Starkweather & Shepley Insurance; Textron
SUPPORTERS: BankRI; Barbara Sokoloff Associates; Duffy & Shanley, Inc.; Sara Shea McConnell; The Wheeler School
FRIENDS: Guillaume Bagal and Bobby Gondola; Arnold B. Chace, Jr.; Jim DeRentis – The Providence Real Estate Guy; Dimeo Construction; Joseph L. and Sarah T. Dowling; Alison and Larry Eichler; Lou Giancola and Pamela High; John and Yvette Harpootian; John Palumbo; Merrill Sherman; Arthur Solomon and Sally Lapides; Joan and Paul Sorensen; Curt Spalding and Dr. Patrice Milos-Spalding; Mary Brooks Wall
Pell Awards Event Committee
Sharon & Richard Jenkins and Kibbe & Tom Reilly, co-chairs
Event Committee: Joseph Chazan, MD & Victoria Veh; Leslie & Tom Gardner; Anne Garnett; Sally Lapides & Art Solomon; Jane Lippincott; Joseph Madden; Sara Shea McConnell; John Palumbo; Ken Sigel & Sarah Kelly; Joan Slafsky; Judith Lynn Stillman; Michael J. Sweeney
Honorary Committee: Senator Jack Reed; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; Representative David Cicilline; Representative Seth Magaziner
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. The Pell Awards honor Senator Claiborne Pell and recognize artistic excellence in Rhode Island, the New England region and nationally. 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’ criteria include excellence in the artist’s chosen field, work that significantly advances the 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
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
Lowry Marshall
Jane S. Nelson
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.
Mihailo “Misha” Djuric
Michael Gennaro
Roger Mandle
Senator Claiborne Pell
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
J.L. “Lynn” Singleton
Rosanne Somerson
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
Tony Estrella
Richard Fleischner
Peter Geisser
Malcolm Grear
Michael Harper
Bunny Harvey
Dorothy Jungels & the Everett Dance Theatre
George Kent
Eugene Lee
David Macaulay
Salvatore Mancini
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
