Governor's Message
 About the Governor's Awards

 Arts Administration
 Arts Education
 Arts Patron
 Business Support of the Arts
 Community Development
    and Participation
 Individual Artist
 Irma Lazarus

 About the Artist
 Award Artwork

 About Arts Day
 Acknowledgements

 Kokorodza Marimba Ensemble

 Event Sponsors
 Media Sponsors
 Table Sponsors
 Additional Support

 Award Selection Committee

Individual Artist

Michael Jerome Bashaw, Kettering

Nominated By: Levin Family Foundation

Not only is Michael Jerome Bashaw one of Ohio’s most versatile artists, he is considered by many to be one of the true inventive musical geniuses of our time. A sculptor and a musician, Bashaw is well-known for his Sound Sculpture concerts, installations and collaborations that appear in a variety of venues.

Bashaw began his career in 1972, teaching at the Living Arts Center in Dayton, where even then he incorporated a variety of media into his work. His creations range from monumental to diminutive sculptures, including the well-known awards for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize—an abstract quill and paper, engraved with the word “peace” in hundreds of languages. Much of his work, however, is a seamless fusion of music and visual art.

A prodigious musician, Bashaw’s career highlights include the composition (with his wife/partner, Sandy) of soundtracks for film, television and radio, as well as orchestral performances that employ his unique, massive, hand-built Sound Sculptures. He has performed on his large-scale, welded steel instruments with his ensemble, Theatre of Sound, in numerous performing arts venues across the United States and in Europe. Performances have included the Dayton Philharmonic and the Sarajevo Philharmonic orchestras. His smaller group, Puzzle of Light, has performed in venues throughout the U.S.

Bashaw also uses his artistic talent to spark the creativity of students. As an artist in residence for organizations such as the Dayton Art Institute and Dayton’s Muse Machine, Bashaw has conducted multimedia workshops and arts integration residencies in hundreds of schools and art centers. His workshops focus on the communal aspects of making visual art and music, and he often facilitates the creation of art installations in order to engage students in hands-on activities.

Michael Jerome Bashaw's video tribute (8:00 minutes)