NSAL Star Maker Awards Gala

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Harrison Funk

Yaacov Heller

Rising Performers Dazzle at 2024 NSAL Star Maker Awards Gala

Internationally Renowned Artist Yaacov Heller to Be Honored with

Lifetime Achievement Award

The National Society of Arts and Letters of Florida (NSAL) is thrilled to announce that internationally renowned artist Yaacov Heller will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at NSAL’s Star Maker Awards Gala at Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The glittering event supports the Boca Raton-based nonprofit’s mission of providing scholarships, competitions, and mentoring for local performing and visual artists. The Gala features performances by NSAL scholarship recipients and competition winners, along with a sumptuous dining experience, and a celebration of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. Event Chairs are Shari Upbin and Alyce Erickson, with Arlene Herson, the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, serving as Honorary Chair. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities visit www.nsalflorida.org/events.

The Star Maker Awards Gala is a stellar gathering of the area’s foremost arts advocates,” stated Kirsten Stephenson, President of NSAL of Florida. “Each year, we are delighted to witness the incredible young talent that our fundraisers’ support, while paying homage to a cultural icon.”

The Star Maker Awards Gala is the nonprofit’s flagship fundraiser and an acclaimed showcase for rising local talent. Performers at the event will include scholarship winners from Lynn Conservatory of Music, the New World School of the Arts, Frost School of Music, Boca Ballet Theatre, and Florida Atlantic University, along with competition and scholarship winners in musical theater, classical voice, and 2-D visual art. Along with the award presentation to the students, Yaacov Heller will receive NSAL’s most prestigious honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Yaacov Heller is an artistic visionary, whose critically acclaimed work has touched the hearts of international luminaries,” said Shari Upbin. “In addition to being a world-renowned painter, sculptor, and jewelry maker, Yaacov is also an extraordinary supporter of NSAL and a vital advocate for young talent in the arts. We are thrilled to be honoring him at this year’s Star Maker Award Gala.”

Heller has been rated among the world’s most accomplished sculptors and top silversmiths. His work has been used to convey messages of hope, tolerance, acceptance, remembrance, and peace through the interpretation of the human form and spirit while holding to his personal unwavering commitment to artistic quality. Throughout his sixty-year career, he has been commissioned to create historically significant works for presidents, kings and queens, heads of state and other dignitaries and celebrities. Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, Hosni Mubarak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Jacque Chirac, Yitzhak Rabin, and Anwar Sadat are among the many world leaders who have owned pieces bearing the artist’s signature. His works are found in presidential libraries and museums worldwide.

“We are so very pleased that Arlene Herson, our esteemed and beloved 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient will serve as the Honorary Chair of the Star Maker Awards,” said Alyce Erickson. “In the nonprofit realm, she has been recognized numerous times for her outstanding contributions to beloved causes. Organizations that have benefitted from her contributions include the Boca Raton Historical Society, Miami City Ballet, Boca Raton, Alzheimer’s Brain Bowl, Rotary Club Downtown Boca Raton, Theatre Lab at FAU, Live at Lynn at Lynn University, and of course NSAL and our Star Maker Awards.”

To learn how you can help foster the dreams of young artists, please visit www.nsalflorida.org.

About NSAL:

NSAL aims to discover talented young people at the beginning of their careers and provides scholarships and competitions in art, dance, drama, literature, music and musical theatre, and works to advance their careers and support creative opportunities. Excelling at the chapter level allows competitors to progress to national competitions and where many stars have been discovered. Among these are Shirley MacLaine, actress/dancer/writer; Jessye Norman, opera singer; Megan Hilty, Broadway and television star; Awadagin Pratt, pianist; and Amanda McKerrow, prima ballerina, and opera star Nadine Sierra who was discovered through the Florida Chapter.

For more information about NSAL scholarships, competitions and how to become a supporter, please visit www.NSALFlorida.org