Three recipients will be recognized for this year’s Alpha Awards for serving as ambassadors to the Alpha Workshop’s mission—providing job training and supported employment to HIV-positive decorative artists. They will be honored at an awards ceremony on May 13 in New York City.
2012 Awards Ceremony
Through their pro-bono services, the individuals and firms being honored have enabled Alpha to have a beautifully designed workspace, complete legal coverage, and a new digital and physical archive.
Architects Etienne Coffinier and Ed Ku of Coffinier Ku Design are being honored for their pro bono work redesigning Alpha’s new home. The space will feature new classrooms and studios, along with a design office and a kitchen/meeting space. Construction on the floor is slated to begin by April with a move-in date scheduled for early summer.
Coffinier and Ku
“We cannot thank Etienne and Ed enough for their incredible generosity, energy and talent,” said Kenneth Wampler, Executive Director of Alpha Workshops. “Their commitment to this project and determination to create the best possible space for our purposes has been inspiring.”
Vinson & Elkins LLP has served as the pro-bono law firm of the Alpha Workshops since 2009. V&E is a truly global firm, with 16 offices and 700 lawyers worldwide.
“As a relatively small non- profit, it is reassuring to know that the support and guidance of Vinson & Elkins is within reach at all times,” said Wampler. “We are so grateful to Caroline Blitzer, Emily Malandra and other lawyers at the firm who have represented Alpha with such respect and integrity.”
David Aloia and Darvia Douglass have volunteered their time and expertise over the last 12 months to create and maintain the Alpha Workshops Archives, a physical and digital catalogue of Alpha’s work. Every custom finish, residential renovation, art installation, wallpaper, furniture design, as well as other creative work and the designs that have been used in licenses, are now recorded with information on the individual artisan responsible for the work.
“It’s a huge and important project that recognizes individual achievement within Alpha’s collective brand,” said Wampler. “David and Darvia are doing a fantastic job. We have 18 years of Alpha expertise and experience to catalog and these archives enable us to protect and celebrate that knowledge and those makers.”
Jamie Drake and Chris Quinn at the 2011 awards ceremony
Since the Alpha Awards originated in 2000, 42 individuals and companies have received awards including: Bloomberg; New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Kate Kelly Smith and Newell Turner of House Beautiful; Tiffany & Co.; Koroseal; Larson-Juhl; Jamie Drake; Matthew Patrick Smyth; Steelcase/Jeannie Bochette; Lifetime Television; Benjamin Moore & Co.; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Cindy Allen; New York Design Center; eBay; Jonathan Rose Companies; Margaret Russell; Christopher Coleman; Samuel Botero; and Mark Pollack. Presenters have included Rosanne Cash; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Clodagh; Mayer Rus; Rachel Kohler; and Marian McEvoy.
The 2013 Alpha Awards will take place on Monday, May 13 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Manhattan’s Prince George Ballroom, 15 East 27th Street. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the website.
Tickets to the awards ceremony are $175 and sponsorships are available from $500 to $50,000.
