Alfred Preis Honor

As part of our national mandate we honor an individual for lifetime commitment to arts and arts education in Hawai`i. This year the Board of Directors of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance is hosting a special event to celebrate Marie McDonald and her lifetime achievements in arts and culture.

The Alfred Preis Honor is named after the founder of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance, and the first executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. The Honor was established in 1982, and recognizes those who have demonstrated in word and action a lifetime commitment to the arts and arts education for all the people of Hawai‘i. Based on the idea of making art “mandatory, rather than allowable,” Preis authored the Art in State Buildings Law, which designates one percent of public building construction funds for art, and established the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Program. Also, an architect in Honolulu, Alfred Preis’ most noteworthy design is the iconic U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

See list of past honorees (PDF) The_Alfred_Preis_Honor.pdf