Trinity Rep’s 2014 Pell Awards honored former Trinity Rep artistic director and Academy-award nominated film, stage and TV actor Richard Jenkins and his wife Director/Choreographer Sharon Jenkins with the 2014 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, Jeffrey Osborne with the 2014 New England Pell Award and nationally known dance educator and choreographer Mary Paula Hunter with the 2014 Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts. The 18th annual Pell Awards event was held on Monday, June 9, at Trinity Rep followed by a reception at the Providence Public Library.

The ceremony included a tribute to Nuala Pell, who recently passed away after serving as honorary co-chair of the awards for many years. Upwards of 300 guests attended the event, raising over $120,000 for the theater.

The theater’s annual gala was co-chaired by Clay Pell and Michelle Kwan alongside Barbara and Larry Schoenfeld.  Together with business, political and social leaders, guests at the creative black tie affair mixed and mingled while enjoying delicious food provided by Russell Morin Fine Catering with desserts by Carina e Dolce while they danced to the music of The Michelle Cruz Quartet.

This year’s awards ceremony acknowledged the recent passing of Nuala Pell who generously served as honorary co-chair of the Pell Awards for some time. The Pell Awards honor Senator Claiborne Pell and recognize artistic excellence in Rhode Island and the New England region as well as on the national level. Throughout his life, Senator Pell worked to support the arts and provide new opportunities for artists.  He sponsored the landmark legislation that established the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities in 1965, and chaired the Senate Education and Arts subcommittee.