Lewis earns Miss. Alliance for Arts Education Award
People who live their dreams deserve recognition. That day came for longtime arts educator Kathryn Lewis on April 4, when the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) honored the retired Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College theatre instructor as the Exemplary Arts Service Award winner. The award was presented to Lewis at Mississippi State University’s Riley Center in Meridian.
Lewis, a Perkinston resident who spent more than 30 years teaching and serving as fine arts chair at Gulf Coast’s Perkinston Campus, was honored for her outstanding achievement, service and contributions to arts education in Mississippi.
“If I could paint a picture of an exemplary Art Service Award winner, the painting would be a portrait of Kathryn Lewis,” said Sandra Cassibry, visual arts instructor at the Perk Campus.
During her tenure, Lewis was twice selected as Instructor of the Year for the Perk Campus. And for good reason…she directed The Perk Players, the college’s acclaimed theatre group; directed 15 musicals, 32 children’s touring shows and 25 dramas; wrote and directed three children’s scripts; and adapted two children’s stories for the stage. She also began the Performing Arts Workshop for area school children, a two-week summer arts experience that includes a community-wide performance and celebration.
Since her retirement in 2001, Lewis, whose husband, Jon, is also retired from the college, has been involved in numerous educational, civic, and faith-based organizations and activities. Recently, she was a key driving force behind the “Telling Trees” project, a mural that was put together by Gulf Coast students and local citizens of Stone County to celebrate the unique aspects of the area.
“The meaning,” said Lewis, “is to give the people of Stone County a sense of place, because if you don’t have a sense of place, you don’t any value of who you are.”
According to the MAAE, Lewis “has worked tirelessly to initiate or support projects that will return value to the community. At the heart of this work lie two core values that define her life and work: arts and education.”
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