The Illinois Humanities Council invites you to join us for the 2012 Public Humanities Award Luncheon honoring Bruce Sagan and Bette Cerf Hill.
Created in 1984, The Public Humanities Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the public understanding of the role the humanities play in transforming lives and strengthening communities.
Bruce Sagan and Bette Cerf Hill have been cultural icons in Chicago for more than 20 years. Through their work, Bruce and Bette have given civic purpose to cultural life and breathed new life into Chicago neighborhoods through the humanities.
In addition to Bruce Sagan's more than half a century reporting, writing and publishing for and about the neighborhoods and the communities of the Chicago area, Mr. Sagan has served as Vice Chairman of the Chicago Public Library Board and Chairman of the Illinois Arts Council. He is on the Board of Directors of the Steppenwolf Theater Company; the Joffrey Ballet; the Chicago Public Library Foundation; the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and serves on the Management Committee of Chicago' classical music radio station, WFMT.
Bette Cerf Hill is a painter, poet and a community activist interested in art, education, and land use planning which includes historic preservation. Ms. Hill served as both staff and as a member of the Illinois Arts Council. In 1980, she created the Near South Planning Board, a civic organization to change the perception of the long abandoned area through a series of cultural activities. Hill was part of a team of twenty Chicago women who presented Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party. Hill, with Robert Wislow and others, produced Sculpture Chicago. Hill also founded the Printers Row Book Fair that offers free literary programs for the public in downtown Chicago.
- Learn More About Bruce Sagan and Bette Cerf Hill.
- See a list of past PHA winners.
- See photos from past Public Humanities Award events!
- Take a look at past sponsors of the PHA Award.
- Learn how to become a PHA sponsor.
The 2012 Public Humanities Award Luncheon will be held on May 23rd, 2012 at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3507.
For more information about this award, please call Monika Collins, Director of Development, at 312.422.5585 ext. 235 or email mjc@prairie.org.
All funds raised by this event help the IHC make opportunities available throughout Illinois for lifelong learning, civic reflection, and community enrichment.
- The Public Humanities Award