By The Shout

The following announcement is based on information provided by the Wichita Arts Council.

This year the Art Council will give out 11 awards to celebrate the full spectrum Wichita's creative community—from a high school musician and emerging artists to educators, advocates, philanthropists, organizations, and artists whose careers have enriched our community for decades.

Youth Performing Arts Award

Aaliyah Venegas

Southeast High School senior and violinist Aaliyah Venegas has been carving a path for herself since she was an eighth grader in the All-City Honor Orchestra. Since then, she has served as concertmaster, performed in the KMEA All-State Orchestra, mentored younger musicians, and become an ambassador for music education throughout USD 259. Her dedication may best be summed up by her mother's recollection that Aaliyah sometimes practiced until she fell asleep with her violin beside her.

A $500 scholarship accompanies this award.

Emerging Visual Artist Award

Trisha Coates

WSU Master of Fine Arts alum Trisha Coates is already gaining national attention for ceramic relief sculptures that occupy the space between painting and sculpture. Look closely: Among her richly layered flowers and imagery, you might discover a key, a turtle shell, or another unexpected treasure. Her work has appeared at venues across the country, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, while she continues teaching and inspiring emerging ceramic artists here at home.

Emerging Performing Artist Award — Non-Musical

Essex Terrel

After spending more than 20 years incarcerated for an act of violence committed at age 19, rap and spoken-word artist Essex Terrel found in music and poetry a way to confront his past and reshape his life. Today, as both a performer and violence interrupter, he uses storytelling to encourage dialogue, healing, and understanding. A regular performer with Ponder.This., Essex demonstrates the extraordinary capacity of art to transform lived experience into meaningful connection.

Arts Educator Award

Johnna Faith Stoffregen

For more than three decades, Johnna Faith Stoffregen has been a visual arts educator, mentor, and leader. Her career has included teaching in Augusta and Andover, mentoring more than 10 future art educators, leading professional development, and sharing arts-integration strategies with educators across Kansas. She has also taken students and travelers to experience art and culture around the world.

Arts Organization Award

Envision

When Envision Arts Gallery opened in 2022, it became the first U.S. gallery created by and for artists and audiences who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise disabled. In 2025 alone, it exhibited 281 artists in 14 exhibitions, welcomed more than 1,500 visitors, and paid more than $5,000 directly to artists.

Special Project Award

Exploration Place Adventure Playscape

The new Adventure Playscape at Exploration Place invites little ones to explore Sunflower Meadow, older children and teenagers to test themselves on towering structures such as the Treetop Climber, and families to move, imagine, eat, and play together.

Arts Advocate Award

Walter Girton

Through Ponder.This., founded in 2010 with the mission of “Uniting Cultures Through the Arts,” Walter Girton has brought spoken word and poetry into museums, schools, libraries, military communities, parks, coffee shops, and neighborhood gathering places. His work includes an ongoing partnership with the Wichita Art Museum and, in 2026, creation of ARTBEAT Underground for the Arts Council to connect younger and more diverse artists with opportunities, services, and grants.

Lifetime Achievement in Visual Arts Award

Kathleen Shanahan (Inaugural Recipient)

Kathleen Shanahan's Her recent Wichita Art Museum solo exhibition, "Now and Then: From the Studio of Kathleen Shanahan," brought together work spanning the 1970s through 2025. Shanahan is still an active practicing artist represented by Reuben Saunders Gallery in Wichita and Viridian Artists in New York.

Lifetime Achievement in Music — Burton Pell Award

Robin Macy and Ken White

For decades, Robin Macy and Ken White have built lives around music. Robin, a founding member of the original Dixie Chicks, and Ken, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and former executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Association, are also the caretakers of Bartlett Arboretum, where they have hosted music for more than two decades.

Their 2024 album, "Truth," reflects two artists who continue to write, record, perform, and collaborate.

Gordon W. Evans Art Leadership Award

Stacee Olden

Stacee Olden is recognized for her leadership in bringing the restoration of Wichita's historic Orpheum Theatre to completion. Its reopening in 2026, celebrated with a sold-out performance by John Legend, marked an extraordinary new chapter in the Orpheum's history.

“Hall of Fame” Arts Award

Caesar and Michelle Naftzger

For more than 30 years, the Naftzger Fund has encouraged and supported young musicians, while the family's philanthropy has strengthened performing and visual arts throughout the community. In 2026, the Naftzgers committed $500,000 toward The Independent School's Fine Arts Theatre renovation and continue to sponsor the Naftzger Family Regional Creatives Exhibition Series at the Wichita Art Museum in partnership with Harvester Arts.

Announcements are submissions from arts and cultural organizations and community members. They are published at the discretion of SHOUT editors and may be lightly edited. Send press releases and other announcements to emily@shoutwichita.com.

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