An awards ceremony was held Feb. 4 at the Chase Park Plaza. The 11th annual awards honor individual and corporate contributors to the arts in six categories.

W. Patrick Schuchard, the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Community Collaboration in the School of Art, received the 2002 Excellence in the Arts Award from the Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis Feb. 4.

Other honorees for Excellence in the Arts were David Halen, concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and The Municipal Theatre Association. Also honored were Emily Rauh Pulitzer (for lifetime achievement in the arts); Lucy and the late Stanley Lopata (excellence in philanthropy); Bank of America (corporate support of the arts); Frederick J. Nelson (arts educator of the year); and Melanie Hadley (young artist of the year).

"There is a wealth of artistic talent in the St. Louis community," said Steven O. Swyers, board chair for A&E and managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in St. Louis. "The Arts & Education Council is delighted to recognize those who have given time, talent and resources to dance, drama, music, visual arts and the education of artists and would-be artists right here in our own community."

Schuchard is an internationally known painter, sculptor and public artist whose career also frequently touches on elements of architecture, public policy and even city planning. Recent projects include the creation of University Lofts, a $5.6 million redevelopment project providing affordable living/working spaces for young artists; a design master plan for Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky.; and murals for two new St. Louis restaurants, Carmine's Steak House downtown and Truffles in Ladue.

Schuchard's illustrations for William H. Gass' essay "The Moyles & Moyles of It," a rumination about the Mississippi River, were published last year in Three Essays: Reflections on the American Century. He also is currently helping create a new master plan for the streetscape of St. Louis' Delmar Boulevard between Skinker Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue.

Schuchard's latest project is the renovation and restoration of Deer Leap Lodge, a turn-of-the-century farm in south-central Missouri. The idiosyncratic property, which sits along a high ridge overlooking the Bourbeuse River, includes handcrafted log buildings, grottos and man-made waterfalls as well as striking examples of Missouri folk art.