Anthony Radford Honored with Christel DeHaan Lifetime Achievement Award

Anthony Radford, the founder of The Indianapolis Public Library’s annual Meet the Artist exhibit and gala, a retired Library employee, and a current member of The Indianapolis Public Library's African American History Committee advisory board, was awarded the Christel DeHaan Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indy Arts Council.

Radford will be honored during the council's Start With Art Celebration, which takes place on Thursday, August 22, 2024, and kicks off the fall art, gallery, and cultural season. The Christel DeHaan Lifetime Achievement Award is one of six ARTI Awards, which celebrate individuals working to advance equity and innovation in the arts. Each nominee was acknowledged by a peer in their community.

About Anthony Radford

Anthony Radford is a mixed-media artist, curator, and art instructor. He grew up on the east side of Indianapolis and started working for the Indianapolis Public Library at the age of 19.

As a child, Radford demonstrated leadership and creativity, often rallying his siblings and friends to work on creative projects. “I grew up in an era where we would build treehouses, go-karts, and things like that. I’d lay out the plan, and they knew what we were gonna do that day,” Radford said.

At 19, Radford began working for the Indianapolis Public Library’s Books To People program, where he visited nursing homes, barbershops, shopping centers, and festivals to encourage residents to sign up for a library card. During a particularly harsh winter, he started spending more time indoors and reconnected with his creative side while making jewelry and art.

Radford visited local art galleries and yearned for more venues that celebrated the creativity of artists of color. “I will never forget when I was at The Library, and I saw the work of an artist named Joe Holiday. His work blew me away because he painted everyday ordinary Black folks and African kings and queens,” he said.

Radford proposed the idea of an art show featuring Black artists to the African American History Committee, which creates educational and cultural programming, services, and collections that benefit the community while highlighting the diverse accomplishments and heritage of African Americans. They entrusted him with organizing the event, which has since grown annually to attract more than 1,000 guests each year, and sometimes as many as 2,350. Meet the Artists continues to provide Black artists, poets, dancers, authors, and musicians with a platform to celebrate creative culture.

Outside of his career at The Library, Radford dedicated considerable time to mentoring young creatives. Along with providing opportunities for youth to showcase their work during Meet the Artists, he has collaborated with the Indianapolis Art Center’s outreach programs and Arts for Learning, a provider of arts education programs for youth in Indiana.

"Tony Radford is more than deserving of this award," said Cordia Watkins, circulation manager at The Indianapolis Public Library. "Many artists often refer to him as someone who has helped them launch their artistry. Tony has dedicated his life to ensuring that local and national African American artists have a place to showcase their works. Tony's whole vision with Meet the Artists was all about providing a place and opportunity for artists who look like him to be able to show their works to the general public. The African American History Committee is excited to celebrate Tony and the work he has done for the Indianapolis community."

For more information on Meet the Artists, click here.

Media Contact: Keshia McEntire, Public Relations Manager, kmcentire@indypl.org