Kevin “Coach K” Lee (right) and Ambassador Andrew J. Young were honored at National Black Arts Festival (NBAF)’s Annual Benefit and Horizon Award event on Saturday, Oct. 30.
NBAF hosted their 2021 Annual Benefit and Horizon Awards event in Atlanta, GA. Themed ASCEND, the NBAF honored Ambassador Andrew J. Young with the 2021 Luminary Award and Kevin “Coach K” Lee (Lil Baby, City Girls, Migos, Lil Yachty) of Quality Control Music with the 2021 Trailblazer Award.
Both men have harnessed their artistic expression to capture the heart of NBAF’s story and have contributed tremendously to uplifting emerging talent. The 2021 Horizon Award winners included Jamie Harris (visual art), Victor Jackson (music), and Nakia Stephens (film).
This year, the awards event took place at the beautiful Guardian Works and was hosted by Lori Wilson of WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News and co-chaired by Beverly Ferguson, Sr. Director of Community Affairs at Georgia Pacific, Carolyn Young, Vice Chair of Andrew J. Young Foundation, and Henrietta Antoinin, Retired SVP of Atlanta Life Financial Group.
The evening began with guests experiencing a silent auction and cocktail hour hosted by CIROC/Deleon. Immediately following, guests were moved to the main area for dinner and the evenings program.
Lori Wilson welcomed guests and Executive Director Stephanie Owens and Board Chair Tracey Lloyd provided remarks before the award presentations by NBAF Artistic Director Tiffany Latrice and co-chairs, Beverly Ferguson and Henrietta Antoinin. Guests also enjoyed entertainment from Orchestra Noir, aerialist Christina Ward, the Mad Violinist Ashanti Floyd and Quinn and the Jukebox Band.
Special guests in attendance included Camille Love (Executive Director, City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs), Derek J (Public Figure, Haircare Professional and TV Host) Natalie Hall (Vice Chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners at Fulton Country Government), Kwanza Hall (Former United States Representative), Khadijah Abdur-Rahman (Board of Commissioners of Fulton County), Zak Wallace (Local Green Atlanta), Curley Dossman (President of Georgia Pacific Foundation), Andrea Young (Executive Director, ACLU), Steve Skipper (Visual Artist), Chandra Stephens-Albright (Managing Director, True Colors Theatre), Wanda Rodwell (Director of Global Community Affairs, Coca-Cola), Charmaine Ward-Millner (Georgia Power, NBAF Advisory Board), September Grey (September Grey Gallery), and Blythe Robinson (Executive Director, Sheltering Arms)
ABOUT NBAF:
Founded in Atlanta in 1987 by the Fulton County Arts Council under the guidance of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, NBAF is recognized as the oldest multidisciplinary arts organization in the United States focused exclusively on the arts and artists of African descent. NBAF realizes its mission through partnerships with cultural and educational organizations, governments, individuals, corporate and private funders – partnerships that enable us, in part, to create pathways for success in the arts and in society, especially for those in under-resourced communities with disadvantaged circumstances. The United States Congress honored NBAF as a national treasure in 2008, and in 2018 NBAF received the Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in Georgia.
Click here for more photos from the event.
Source: Press release
Photo Credit: Prince Williams, ATLPics.net
