Bentley Earns St. Louis Visionary Award for Contributions to the Arts
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Theater and Dance Associate Professor and Black Studies program Director Kathryn Bentley has earned a 2020 Saint Louis Visionary Award in the Outstanding Working Artist category. The award celebrates Bentley’s acclaimed work in the arts both at SIUE and in the community.
“I am humbled to win this award,” said Bentley. “There are so many phenomenal women artists in St. Louis, so being recognized in this way is significant to me. I am grateful to my fellow artists with whom I collaborate on a regular basis.”
Bentley joined the SIUE Department of Theater and Dance in 2004 and has been directing the Black Studies program since 2018. She has also served as the artistic director of SIUE’s Black Theatre Workshop since 2006.
In addition to her work at SIUE, Bentley has performed and directed with numerous theater companies regionally and nationally, most recently directing the 2019 Shakespeare in the Streets production of Love at the River’s Edge with Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. In 2018, she joined Bread & Roses Missouri as artistic director for the Workers’ Theater Project and directed the company’s first full-length production, Jailbird, in 2019.
Bentley has been instrumental in developing the CHIPS In Motion program at CHIPS Health and Wellness Center in North St. Louis. This program continues to utilize performance to teach the community about pertinent health and wellness issues.
“I have committed the last 20 years of my career to educating through theater,” said Bentley. “It’s important to me that I utilize the arts to impact change whenever I can. There is not a more powerful way to effect change than through heart-centered interactions. Theater challenges us to go past the intellect and make personal connections to difficult topics.”
Bentley will receive her Saint Louis Visionary Award during a ceremony held on Monday, April 27, at 6 p.m. at the Sun Theater in Grand Center. Visit vizawards.org for details.
Photo: SIUE Dept. of Theater and Dance Associate Professor and Black Studies Program Director Kathryn Bentley.
