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The Irma Lazarus Award

The Honorable Patrick Sweeney,
Legislator/Art's Advocate, Cleveland

Patrick Sweeney began his career as a legislator in 1967 and he served as both a state representative and a state senator during his 32 years in the Ohio Legislature. He was elected assistant majority leader in 1974 and four years later was elected chair of the Education Section and as vice chairman of the House Finance Appropriations Committee. He was named majority whip in 1984 and later served as minority leader of the Ohio House. The success of the Ohio Arts Council is largely attributed to the leadership that Sweeney evidenced in the Ohio House. He relentlessly pushed for budget appropriations from the state in good times and bad times. Along with Senator Stanley Aronoff he helped engineer Ohio’s Percent for the Art program into Ohio law and helped form the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Arts committee. Sweeney was a driving force for the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as well as countless other cultural projects in the greater Cleveland area. He helped bring home millions of state dollars for various projects around Cleveland including the renovation of Playhouse Square and Cleveland State University’s 17-18th Street project which included a new law library and business school building. He was instrumental in Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center for the Arts and advocated for cultural projects with national organizations such as NCSL. He also served as an advisor and co-professor at Cleveland State University. For more than 40 years Sweeney has been a powerful and tireless voice in the arts.

Since 1994, The Irma Lazarus Award, presented at the discretion of the Ohio Arts Council Board, honors the memory of Irma Lazarus, who made countless contributions as an arts patron, advocate and leader in the development of state funding for the arts in Ohio. It is presented to organizations or individuals who have helped shape public support for the arts through their work as advocates and have brought statewide, national and international recognition to Ohio through sustained dedication to artistic excellence. Nominations are not accepted for this award.

The Honorable Patrick Sweeney video tribute (6:01 minutes)