2016 Larry Hurt Excellence in Arts Education ARTI Award Winners Announced

At the Arts Council of Indianapolis’ annual Start with Art luncheon on Friday, September 2, two local arts educators were awarded the 2016 Larry Hurt Excellence in Arts Education ARTI Award. The winners are…

Mary Jo Bayliss
The Arts Council of Indianapolis awarded the first 2016 Larry Hurt Excellence in Arts Education ARTI Award to Mary Jo Bayliss. A champion for K-12 arts education and a teacher at Christel House Academy South, Mary Jo Bayliss is a teacher whose unwavering dedication and passion for the arts has inspired students to take risks, to expand boundaries, and set lofty but achievable goals. An accomplished and practicing artist herself, her influence on her students’ lives has been transformative. 

Betty Perry
Because of her unwavering dedication to ensuring all students have access to music education, the Arts Council of Indianapolis awarded a second 2016 Larry Hurt Excellence in Arts Education ARTI Award to Betty Perry during this year’s Start with Art. In 1995, she founded the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, a youth and family development program that aligns musical and social goals to engage at-risk youth and set them on a course for future success. MYO, now a program of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, serves 220 students and families in the most challenged Indianapolis neighborhoods through music education, mentoring, and support services. Since 2008, an extraordinary 100% of its high school seniors have graduated from high school and transitioned to post-secondary education!