The first Ellen Choy Craig Award was given last night to Corinne Kamiya at the Circle Members' and artists' preview opening of "20 Going on 21: An Exhibition of Hawaii Artists" at The Contemporary Museum.

The new award honoring a Hawaii artist was made possible by benefactor Timothy Y. C. Choy.

Kamiya received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii-Manoa in 2004 and is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. She has received awards from the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce and was recognized as an Outstanding Student in Sculpture at UH. Kamiya was also the recipient of the John Young Scholarship and the Massachusetts College of Art Graduate Scholarship. Her work has been exhibited at institutions such as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the ARTS at Marks Garage in Honolulu and the Doran Gallery in Boston.

Choy established an endowment in his mother's memory, the Ellen Choy Craig Award, to be given yearly to a Hawaii artist. This year, the award and a stipend of $500 were presented in conjunction with the Museum's 20th anniversary exhibition honoring Hawaii artists.

On the Web: http://www.tcmhi.org.