Massimo Hamilton, Class of 2020, of Germantown and Elizabeth Frishkoff, Class of 1986, of Ghent, will each receive this year's Henriette Reiss Award for Artistic Endeavor for their illustrations of books on fishing and food and the Abenaki language, respectively. This award is given annually to current or former Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School (HVS) graduates to support artistic practice.
The 30th annual Henriette Reiss Award will be presented at HVS’s 2024 Graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 15 at 2pm. This event is open to the public.
Massimo Hamilton graduated from College of the Atlantic (COA) in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology. His studies in Visual Arts permeated his transdisciplinary academic experience in Fisheries and Marine Science, Spanish Language Studies, and Climate Justice. He participated in COA’s language and cultural immersion program in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula (Programas de Inmersión Cultural en Yucatán), as well as Boston University’s Sea Education Association Program in French Polynesia. He interned at Acadia Aqua Farms in Bar Harbor, ME, and for four years worked as a deckhand on COA’s research vessel, M/V Osprey. Massimo is a 2023 Maine Sea Grant Undergraduate Scholar. He is proud to have joined the ranks of Henriette Reiss Award recipients for the work in his book, Blue Foods of Bar Harbor, Maine: An Illustrated Guide to Fishing and Feasting.
Elizabeth Frishkoff received a BA in Performing and Visual Arts From Wells College, and a Masters of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. Her post graduate studies and certificates include: Early Childhood Education; Waldorf Pedagogical Studies; Spacial Dynamics; Reflex Integration; and Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment and Learning Efficiency – HANDLE. Elizabeth has been offering through a movement-based private practice to a wide variety of clients for more than 25 years in clinical, school and home-based settings. Elizabeth is primarily of Euro-American decent, and a life-time student of Anthroposophy and human development. She joined an Abenaki online language class in 2020 as part of her efforts to understand the history of Columbia County and the parts of the story that have been neglected in the traditional narrative. She has come to deeply appreciate the gifts of insight into awareness, consciousness, and relationships intrinsic in the Abenaki language and culture, and began her illustrated Abenaki language book as a way to bring the language to life and as a gift to Abenaki tribal members to support visual learners in their efforts to learn their language. She is dedicating the book to Linda Longtoe Sheen and her husband Roger for their partnership in spirit as inspiration and motivation throughout the process.
About the Award
The Henriette Reiss Award for Artistic Endeavor was established in 1993 by Elizabeth Papas of Philmont, N.Y., a long-time friend of the Reiss family. Henriette Reiss (1889-1992), a resident of Columbia County, N.Y., for twenty-five years, was an internationally respected artist and designer. Born in England and raised in Switzerland, she followed her husband, the artist Winold Reiss, to New York in 1914, where she soon established her own career and became well known for her textile and rug designs, as well as for her book jackets and advertising layouts. She also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Click here for further information on Henriette Reiss.
For additional information, please call 518-672-4910 or visit the Award's website.
