Spokane Arts awards gala honors multiple individuals, organizations

Spokane Arts hosted its annual arts awards gala on Saturday night, honoring the top individuals and organizations of the city.

The first award of the night was handed to the Youth Board of the Spokane Children’s Theatre, which earned the inaugural Youth Arts Leadership award.

Live From Somewhere, co-founded by Jon Kuritz and Ryan Stocks, took home the award for Imagination.

“Wow this is wild,” Stocks said in an acceptance speech.

Live From Somewhere is a music video series that highlights local musicians in remote locations across the region.

“I just want to turn the spotlight back on all the artists we’ve had the honor of working with,” Stocks said. “This is who this really belongs to.”

For Collaboration, Spokane Sequential, a free quarterly comics zine, took home the prize.

Sid Al-Thumali, of the Wayward World Podcast, accepted the award for Inclusion.

“I come from Saudi Arabia,” Al-Thumali said in their acceptance speech, while dressed in drag. “I know what it feels like to come from not an inclusive place for a very long time,” but through highlighting queer nightlife artists, they said it is an honor to be able to offer an inclusive space to others. “I don’t know what to say except ‘thank you.’ ”

Kemuel DeMoville, the drama instructor for the Spartan Theatre at Spokane Falls Community College, garnered the Leadership award.

“I’m very fortunate, as we all are, to live in a place that supports the arts,” DeMoville said. “Thank you for your trust in me as a leader here.”

The Arts Advocacy award, new to the gala this year, was awarded to Dahveed Bullis, a playwright, director, musician and actor.

“This award goes to my mother. She just never stopped advocating for me as a kid,” Bullis said. “And it also goes to my son, who part of my advocation for the arts here is for him, because I want a world that I’m proud to enter him into, and I’m proud to enter him with all of you – one day, if he wants to.”

Longtime painter and art advocate Lila Girvin, 95, was presented with the Karen Mobley Lifetime Achievement Award.

The night was sprinkled with live performances by flamenco dancer Monica Mota Romberg, poet Donell Barlow, as well as singer and vibraphonist Rosie CQ.

The night began with a song honoring the life of Native artist Ric Gendron (Arrow Lakes), who died in 2023, led by Gendron’s family. And the night ended with an announcement from Spokane Arts executive director Skyler Oberst that the nonprofit is launching an Indigenous artists fund in Gendron’s name, and multiple attendees committed to donating hundreds of dollars that night.