Previous Panelist and the Artistic Director of AS 220, Umberto Crenca received a Pell Award from Providence's Trinity Repertory Theater. On the choice for this year's local award recipient, Curt Columbus, Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory states, "Rhode Island Pell Award honoree Bert Crenca is probably best known for his work as the co-founder and leader of AS220, which stands today as one most innovative and successful arts organizations in the nation. But we are pleased to shift the focus to the man himself and honor Crenca with this award in recognition of his exemplary achievements as a visual and performing artist. It was as an artist first and foremost that Crenca first created AS220's mission, fueled by his personal belief that art should be cultivated in an unjuried and uncensored space. It is Crenca's artistic vision and often controversial body of work that has helped to create a passionate dialogue within our community today."