MASSIMO HAMILTON ’20 AND ELIZABETH FRISHKOFF ’86 RECEIVE
2024 HENRIETTE REISS AWARD
Massimo Hamilton, Class of 2020, of Germantown and Elizabeth Frishkoff, Class of 1986, of Ghent, will each receive this year's Henriette Reiss Award for Artistic Endeavor for their illustrations of books on fishing and food and the Abenaki language, respectively. The 32nd annual Henriette Reiss Award will be presented at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 15 at 2pm. This event is open to the public.
Massimo Hamilton graduated from College of the Atlantic (COA) in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology. His studies in Visual Arts permeated his transdisciplinary academic experience in Fisheries and Marine Science, Spanish Language Studies, and Climate Justice. He participated in COA’s language and cultural immersion program in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula (Programas de Inmersión Cultural en Yucatán), as well as Boston University’s Sea Education Association Program in French Polynesia. He interned at Acadia Aqua Farms in Bar Harbor, ME, and for four years worked as a deckhand on COA’s research vessel, M/V Osprey. Massimo is a 2023 Maine Sea Grant Undergraduate Scholar. He is proud to have joined the ranks of Henriette Reiss Award recipients for the work in his book, Blue Foods of Bar Harbor, Maine: An Illustrated Guide to Fishing and Feasting.
Elizabeth Frishkoff received a Bachelor of Arts in Performing and Visual Arts from Wells College, and a Masters of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. Her post graduate studies and certificates include: Early Childhood Education; Waldorf Pedagogical Studies; Spacial Dynamics; Reflex Integration, and HANDLE (Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment and Learning Efficiency.) Elizabeth has offered her movement-based private practice to a wide variety of clients for more than 25 years in clinical, school and home-based settings. She is primarily of Euro-American descent, and a life-time student of Anthroposophy and human development. She joined an Abenaki online language class in 2020 as part of her efforts to understand the history of Columbia County and the parts of the story that have been neglected in the traditional narrative. She has come to deeply appreciate the gifts of insight into awareness, consciousness, and relationships intrinsic in the Abenaki language and culture. Elizabeth began her illustrated Abenaki language book as a way to bring the language to life and as a gift to Abenaki tribal members to support visual learners in their efforts to learn their language. She is dedicating the book to Linda Longtoe Sheen and her husband Roger for their partnership in spirit as inspiration and motivation throughout the process.
About the Award
The Henriette Reiss Award at Hawthorne Valley was created in 1993 through the generosity of Elizabeth Hughes Papas to honor the work and spirit of artist/teacher Henriette Reiss (1889-1992).
Henriette Reiss by Winold Reiss, 1912
Pastel on paper, 23 1/2" x 19 1/8"
Central to the life and work of Henriette Reiss was the abiding insight that art is crucial to individual and social development, a view also embraced and furthered in Waldorf schools around the world. The recognition of these truths moved Elizabeth Papas to establish an award at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, in order to help aspiring students further their educations in the arts.
The award is given annually to Hawthorne Valley School seniors and/or alumni. It is administered by the Henriette Reiss Award Committee which solicits applications, selects recipients, organizes award events, and engages in fundraising. The members of the committee currently are Pamela Dalton, Melania Levitsky, Linda Park, Ted Pugh, Rebecca Reiss, Renate Reiss, and George Riley. The award endowment fund is part of the school's endowment. Awarded amounts vary from year to year and have ranged from $500 to $1,500, depending on the success of annual fundraising efforts to supplement endowment income.