Loridans gives artists awards

The Charles Loridans Foundation has announced the winners of its annual program for individual arts.

Four artists honored for their distinction and long-term contributions to Atlanta’s cultural life will receive the Loridans Arts Medal and a payment of $15,000.

> W. Dwight Coleman, director of the Georgia State University School of Music and its Harrower Summer Opera Workshop; resident stage director of La Musica Lirica Summer Opera Festival in Italy.

> Klimchak, performer and composer who has created musical soundscapes for many Atlanta theaters for the past 20 years;

> Larry Larson, actor and playwright active on Atlanta stages since 1980.

> Juan Ramirez-Hernandez, a first violinist with The Atlanta Symphony, who leads the Atlanta Virtuosi and the Buckhead Youth Orchestra.

Four young artists have received The Loridans Encouragement awards.

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright and Jason von Hinezmeyer, a performer and designer at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts, each receive $10,000.

Ariel de Man and Maia Knispel, actors and founders of Out-of-Hand Theater, each receive $7,500.

The late Charles Loridans, an engineer, started his foundation in 1952. It began to focus on the arts with a theater initiative in 2001 and has since expanded its support to a broad spectrum of arts groups and institutions.