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"I REMEMBER BETTER WHEN I PAINT"
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SCHOLARSHIP -- THE HILGOS AWARD

The Hilgos Award provides student funding at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to support and encourage the ongoing process of artistic creation. The award was established by family and friends in memory of the artist Hilgos, who studied at the Chicago Art Institute as a young woman, graduated in the 1920s, and became a well respected painter and sculptor, specializing in marine themes. Hilgos painted well into her 90's. She returned to painting with several Art Institute students even after suffering memory loss, which almost forced her to stop painting. An award has been created in her spirit and memory at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Celebration photo to the right was taken following the Hilgos Scholarship launch at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago on April 27, 1999. The event included a fashion show envisioned and organized by the fashion designer Charles Nolan where the artist's artwork was screened onto fabrics designed by Ellen Tracy, Oscar de la Renta, art students, and others. The creations were modeled by the handicapped, elderly, and art students from the Chicago Art Institute.
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CONTACT INFORMATION

406 Woodland Road
Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (847)432-5476
Email: hilgos@hilgos.org
Pictured from left to right: Lee Huebner, artists Ed and Nancy Paschke, Dr. Lawrence Lazarus, Marisa Berenson, Berna Huebner, President Tony Jones of the School of Art Institute.
Click to VIEW the List of Scholarship Awardees
CLICK HERE FOR THE TRAILER FOR THE FILM.
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Partial List of Scholarship Awardees

ANGELA BURKHARDT completed a project that encompassed a fieldwork assignment at the Alternative Adult Day Service of Highland Park Hospital which included Alzheimer's patients ranging in age from 50 - 100 years. The center emphasizes activites that encourage socialization, memory skills and rehearsal of self-expression.


SUNNY GIVENS worked on a project entitled 'Memory Making: Sharing Life Stories through Art' at the Villa Guadalupe Senior Apartments.


CAROLYN HOERDMANN worked on a project at St. Clara's Manor.


ANNE HOLLENBECK received a Master of Arts degree in art education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Hilgos Award provided her the opportunity to work at the City of Chicago's Department of Aging's Renaissance Court, where she developed and taught a class in collage. She also produced a booklet entitled 'Legacy of Wisdom', which is a collection of memoirs written by the elderly residents of Renaissance Court.


ALEXIS LONDON used her Hilgos Award to work at the Resurrection Retirement Community in Chicago, IL, where she coordinated a collage workshop series for elderly residents entitled 'Wednesdays With Alexis.' Alexis worked with two senior citizens named Jerry and Fran. Their work was well received and culminated in an exhibition at the Center. In addition, Alexis conducted a shadow box class and she, Jerry and Fran remain good friends.


TAKEO NAGASAKA worked on a project at Norwood Park Home.


MARA PELECIS received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, focusing on sculpture installation and documentary media. The Hilgos Award enabled Mara to work with a small group of Latvian-American senior citizens who spent many hours reminiscing and documenting their life stories on video. Subsequently, Mara received a Fulbright Fellowship which allowed her to travel to Riga, Latvia and to work on documentary videos.


LAURA EVONNE STEINMAN received a Master of Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a concentration in community arts. The Hilgos Award provided her the opportunity to work with a diverse group of elderly residents at the Copernicus Center in Chicago, IL. Laura helped the residents to draw, paint, make collages, and create books based on their personal histories. The artist-residents were able to reflect on their lives and to share their experiences in an intergenerational setting.


ELLEN TRITSCHEL worked with senior citizens at the Washington and Jane Smith Home and the Beverly Branch Library. Ellen was awarded a second year scholarship to continue her work.


GAUTAM WADHWA was responsible for the original HILGOS website. Gautam also worked as a designer in a community outreach project for elderly artisans in India.


SERENA WORTHINGTON used the Hilgos Award to serve as an intern at the Lieberman Geriatric Center in Skokie, IL. There she facilitated the 'My Story' project, a book-making program for elderly people with Alzheimer's disease. Serena's project afforded the resident-artists an opportunity to become acquainted with one another, to design, write, and layout their books and to record their autobiographies.