Arts council lauds 11 Californians

Eleven Californians who “have fought long and hard to protect and advance the arts” will receive awards in January from the California Arts Coun- cil.

Southern Californians chosen by Barry Hessenius, the arts council’s director, are Michael Alexander, executive director of the Grand Performances series in downtown Los Angeles; Ed Waterstreet, artistic director of Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood; Ramaa Bharadvaj, artistic director of the Yorba Linda-based classical Indian dance company Angahar Ensemble; Gerald Yoshitomi, arts consultant and former executive director of the Japanese American Community and Cultural Center in L.A.; Teri Knoll, director of the California Assn. of Museums, based in Santa Ana; and Alan Ziter, longtime director of the San Diego Performing Arts League.

Honorees from Northern California are Marie Acosta, director of the San Francisco-based Latino Arts Network; Moy Eng, performing arts program director for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park; Chike C. Nwoffiah, who doubles as artistic director of the Oriki Theatre in Mountain View and director of the California Black Arts Alliance; Vinay Patel, administrative director of San Francisco’s Asian Improv aRts group and co-director of the California Asian American Pacific Islander Arts Network; and Sacramento arts consultant Brenda Jew Waters.

-- Mike Boehm