June 13th 2014
FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE
Sofia Imber will be the recipient of VAEA’s Páez Medal of Art 2014.
The Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA) is proud to announce that the recipient of the Páez Medal of Art 2014 will be Sofia Imber. Imber is one of the most outstanding personalities in the history of Venezuelan art and journalism, being a notable advocator for the arts in Venezuela and throughout Latin America.
Imber’s contributions to the arts as a journalist, art promoter, educator and philanthropist have made her an ideal recipient of VAEA’s highest award. As a journalist, Sofia helped the establishment and coordination of the cultural pages of the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal and worked with dozens of publications across the continent for more than fifty years; As a promoter of the arts, in 1973 she founded and directed for 31 years The Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, considered to be one of the most important museums of Latin America and recognized for both the quality of its programing as well as its superb collection, which includes the works of Miró, Picasso, Botero and other world-renowned artists; Under Sofia’s leadership the MACC was the first Venezuelan museum to offer a library service specializing in art, a space for artistic training for children and adults, a department of special education for the blind and a multimedia center for the arts. Most recently, the Universidad Católica Andres bello inaugurated the Biblioteca Sofia Imber after receiving her donation of 5,000 books and catalogues, an outstading contribution for scholars students and future generations.
Sofia Imber’s passion and avid advocacy for arts and culture has undoubtedly changed the lives not only of the artists that she has promoted, but also of the millions of people whose lives were improved by having a world-class museum in Caracas.
2014 is a year in which VAEA is honoring women in culture and we are very proud that as recognition for her passionate and longstanding career in the arts, Sofia Imber will be the first woman to receive the Paéz Medal of Art. The ceremony will take place during VAEA’s Annual Benefit Gala on November 19th 2014 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center in New York City.
The Páez Medal of Art is awarded once a year to an individual or group that has had an impact and contributed to the excellence, growth, support and proliferation of the arts in Venezuela and the United States; the 2013 honoree was North American artist Robert Wilson and in 2012 was Venezuelan visual artist Carlos Cruz-Diez.
The Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA), is a NY based 501(c)3 public charity, founded on June 13, 1990 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth in Acarigua, Venezuela of José Antonio Páez. Our mission is to strengthen the ties of friendship between the United States of America and Venezuela through bi-national cultural and social programs.