CHARLESTON, SC.- On Monday, May 2, the Gibbes Museum of Art announced the winners of the 2011 Factor Prize for Southern Art, the 2011 Mary Whyte Art Educator Award, and the 2011 Philanthropy Award at the museum’s Annual Meeting Celebration.

Elizabeth and Mallory Factor Prize for Southern Art
Sculptor Patrick Dougherty was recognized as the winner of the 2011 Factor Prize for Southern Art and he will be receiving the $10,000 cash prize that accompanies the award. The Factor Prize acknowledges an artist whose work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media while contributing to a new understanding of art in the South. A native and current resident of North Carolina, Dougherty is a sculptor who works with twigs and branches to create site-specific installations. Woven together and held in place by tension, Dougherty’s sculptures have a whimsical quality, inspired by his experiences as a child. He has exhibited throughout the world, including installations in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Japan, and numerous locations in the United States.

Throughout the year, artists were nominated or could self-nominate for the Prize online at www.factorprize.org. In March, seven panelists narrowed the list to six finalists who along with Dougherty included Bo Bartlett, Pinky Bass, Elliott Hundley, Deborah Luster, and Jiha Moon.

Mary Whyte Art Educator Award
Annie Purvis-Norman, a 7th-12th grade art teacher from Lincoln High School in McClellanville received the 2011 Art Educator Award and the $2,000 cash prize that accompanies the award. Established in 2007, the Mary Whyte Art Educator Award is designed to recognize a high school visual art teacher in the tri-county area who has demonstrated superior commitment to his or her students and craft. High school teachers submitted lesson plans and examples of work after completing an online application on the Gibbes website.

Ms. Purvis-Norman submitted a lesson plan for a Mosaic Tile School Community Mural which consisted of four 200-foot mosaic tile murals symbolically representing Gullah arts and the community of McClellanville, a Lowcountry village on the water. Students assisted with the creation of the mural which now decorates the school building. Annie Purvis-Norman earned her Bachelors of Studio Art and Bachelors of Philosophy from the College of Charleston and her Masters of Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has been teaching at Lincoln High School since 2001. She has been a commissioned artist since 1987 and is involved with the Summer Art Institute, Piccolo Spoleto, Community Fine Arts Team in McClellanville and the McClellanville Arts Council.

In addition to Purvis-Norman, the other finalists this year were Robin Boston from Stratford High School and Steven James Bailey from Summerville High School. The Mary Whyte Art Educator Award is named for renowned Charleston watercolorist and donor Mary Whyte. Additional supporters of the Award are the Cynthia Schell Charitable Trust and Bettina Whyte.

James S. Gibbes Philanthropy Award
The membership auxiliary group Gibbes, etc. was honored with the third annual James S. Gibbes Philanthropy Award. Gibbes, etc. Co-founders Ellen Walkley, Ann Trees, Ruth Baker, and Cathy Marino accepted the award on behalf of the 162-member Kiawah-based group. Since its inception in 2001, and primarily through the Kiawah Island Art and House Tour, Gibbes, etc. has presented the Gibbes with more than one million dollars to date to fund traveling exhibitions and art education projects in the community.

New Board Members Announced
In addition to the award winners, the Gibbes board welcomed seven new members to their ranks. New members are Virginia Brush, Susan Campbell, Lucile Cogswell, Lou Hammond, Barbie Kratovil, Michele Seekings, and Richard A. Smith.