It is our great honor to announce the recipients of 2023 Tucson Meet Yourself “Cultural Animator” Awards, made in recognition of these artists’ steadfast commitment to caring for the artistic legacy of their respective artforms in Arizona and Tucson specifically. We name these artists in recognition of their vision, talent, work ethic, and love for community and the traditional arts.
Angelina Ramirez, Flamenco Dance/Music
Tanishia & Kevin Hamilton, Soul Music
The TMY Cultural Animator Award recognizes artists within our larger “TMY family” who skillfully weave the traditional arts with entrepreneurial strategies that animate cultural practices in new spaces and through new forms of presentation or technology.
The award is presented this year, the 50th edition of Tucson Meet Yourself, in recognition that the work of inclusive cultural democracy in our community happens year-round by courageous cultural animators and is not not contained to any single day, event, or three-day festival. TMY takes pride in having served as platform for many of the cultural expressions that might have otherwise never been known or nurtured locally.
-Dr. Maribel Alvarez & Bryan Falcón, Festival Co-directors