Bainbridge Island has its fair share of precious jewels — but this year, three local gems shine especially bright.
The Island Treasure Awards have returned for the 23rd season after a three-year hiatus due to COVID to honor Bainbridge artists Caroline Cooley Browne, Gina Corpuz and Lucy Ostrander for their contributions to BI’s arts and humanities.
Inaugurated in 2000, the awards are almost a quarter century old, but they’re still unearthing hidden wonders, ITA coordinator Ellen Bush said. This year, the winners include the program’s first filmmaker, Ostrander, and first Indigenous honoree, Corpuz.
“People know the history of the program, but every year, someone says, ‘I’ve lived here for thirty years, and I’ve never heard of this person,” Bush said. “They’re quiet little wonders, but they’re amazing. And they each have their own story from different pockets of the community.”
Cooley Browne and Ostrander, recognized for innovative fiber arts and documentary filmmaking, respectively, join a legacy of visual artists honored by ITA. Corpuz represents the humanities aspect of the award as a multicultural educator.
“As a teacher, we want to ensure that all of our students have a sense of belonging in their classroom and their community, as well as an understanding of where they fit in the world,” Corpuz said.
The indigenous method of education is trifold, she explained: students absorb information in a traditional learning setting, develop empathy and then act on their knowledge. These steps are represented by the head, the heart and the hand. “It becomes a human act of kindness,” she said.
All three artists take inspiration from BI’s unique history, and their work is steeped in each creator’s relationship to time and place.
Cooley Browne, a prolific painter and fiber artist, is a strong advocate for the arts on Bainbridge and beyond. Her work is intuitive and abstract, she explained in an interview with Bainbridge Arts and Crafts during her exhibition last September. Pattern, color and layers within her compositions represent the evolving, dynamic nature of emotion and grief. “Art helped me express what was inside me,” Cooley said.
Ostrander’s and Corpuz’s work, on the other hand, is highly literal: both are focused on telling stories from BI’s past and present. They are collaborating on the documentary “Honor Thy Mother,” the untold story of the Indipino community. The film has been selected by 13 film festivals throughout the Western United States.
For Ostrander, “Honor” is a culmination of a decades-long dive into the rich history of the Asian-American community in Kitsap County. Several of her other films’ subjects, including “Memories of a Mill Town,” “Island Roots” and “The Woman Behind the Symbol,” are all intertwined. “One film often leads to another,” she said.
Each artist is nominated by an anonymous source, and winners are chosen by a confidential committee. The jurors consider several factors when selecting the honorees, including impacts of their body of work on the community, their unique voice and vision, and how they inspire peers. Winners are granted $5,000 and a commemorative candle holder.
So far, close to 400 people have participated in the process, Bush said. And the artistic treasure trove keeps growing. “When we first started the Island Treasure Award, there was no Bainbridge Museum of Art. There was no BARN. There weren’t all these outlets for people to do art,” she said. “The resources for people to practice and show their art have really grown a lot.”
If you go
Where: Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island.
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Feb. 10
Lucy Ostrander
