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Local Artist & Journalist Selected For Liddell Award

Artist Alexandra Hall and journalist Steve Penhollow were named the recipients of the 2024 H. Stanley Liddell Award.

Whatzup presents the H. Stanley Liddell Award to individuals who have made a uniquely significant contribution to the arts and culture of Fort Wayne and surrounding communities.

A celebratory luncheon took place on Dec. 6, at The Clyde Theatre.

The Liddell Award is chosen by a committee comprised of previous honorees.

photo by Emma Milledge

Alex Hall is the youngest recipient of the Liddell Award, who was nominated by Whatzup founder Doug Driscoll for her murals and work as manager of Art This Way, a program of Downtown Fort Wayne. Also, on top of keeping busy with her Art by Alexandra Hall studio and work with Art This Way, Hall is on the Downtown Public Realm Committee, part of the Fort Wayne Artist Guild, and consults with projects across the world. She was also hired to consult in the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s “Make It Your Own Mural Fest,” which brought 11 murals to 11 counties in the region.

Steve Penhollow is currently the managing editor of Fort Wayne Magazine, but he worked as an arts and entertainment reporter for The Journal Gazette from 1996-2012 and wrote freelance for several publications, including Whatzup. He was nominated by WBOI stalwart Julia Meek, who has worked in public radio as an arts and culture reporter and host of Folktales and Meet the Music.

The award is named for Stan Liddell, the founder of Piere’s entertainment center and first recipient of the award (then simply called “Special Achievement Award” in 2001). Liddell passed away in February 2013; here is what Whatzup said of him at the time:

“Were it not for Stan Liddell, there would be no Whatzup. It’s as simple as that. This publication would never have survived past its second year had not Stan Liddell seen its potential to impact the arts and entertainment in Fort Wayne and made it a significant part of Piere’s marketing strategy. For nearly 16 years, Piere’s Entertainment Center occupied the back page of this publication, and that advertising investment was critical to Whatzup’s continued success over the years. In all of our dealings with Stan, we found him to be a man of generosity, fairness, honesty, kindness and vision, a man whose word was as solid as rock. H. Stanley Liddell passed away at the age of 78 on Monday, February 4, 2013. He will be sorely missed, not only by us at Whatzup, but by the Fort Wayne area’s arts community, a community upon whom his influence, though usually quiet and behind the scenes, was enormous and lasting.”

For more information about Whatzup and the honor, go to whatzup.com/liddell.

The Waynedale News Staff

The Waynedale News Staff

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