Art Matters co-founder and donor Laura Donnelley receives Montblanc Arts Patronage Award

Photo courtesy of Getty Images for Montblanc.

From the Montblanc press release:

Art Matters co-founder, Laura Donnelley honored as one of 17 recipients around the world in 2018 with the visionary award.

Since 1992, the Montblanc Cultural Foundation has recognized the inspiring individuals whose personal commitments generously enable new ways for the arts to flourish. Setting itself apart from the many other cultural awards that focus on the work and creativity of artists in various disciplines, the Montblanc Arts Patronage Award celebrates those who generously enable a wide-array of artists to conceive, create and share new artistic points of view. Often away from the limelight, they provide artists the freedom and the resources to push boundaries, challenge minds and develop new ideas. All patrons are united by a common purpose – to make arts and culture accessible to broader audiences – a commitment the Montblanc Cultural Foundation acknowledges every year with an award that has become an annual milestone for the global arts community. As part of this year’s celebrated patrons, Laura Donnelley will be recognized at an intimate gathering hosted by Chairmen of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath taking place at one of New York’s most elusive spaces – the studio of Izhar Patkin.

Through her work as co-founder of Art Matters and founder of the Good Works Foundation, Donnelley tirelessly promotes the efforts of individual artists and collective teams whose work demonstrates innovative approaches to education and cultural enrichment. Under her 33-year leadership, Art Matters has distributed over 2500 grants to US artists for fellowships and collaborative projects all over the world with priority given to those working to positively impact social issues and encourage experimentation.

“Laura Donnelley’s continued support and passionate commitment to enriching the lives of artists has had a measurable impact on making arts and culture accessible to broader audiences,” explains Sylvain Costof, President of Montblanc North America. “This award celebrates those efforts of modern-day patrons creating innovative ways for artists to have freedom to create and push boundaries on new ideas.”

Chairmen of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath commented, “Art Matters has been instrumental to the artistic development of thousands of creatives for more than 30 years. This tireless effort has made a profound impact on the art scene in the United States and we are honored to recognize Laura Donnelley’s inspirational patronage in founding and building this organization.”