National Sculpture Society presents the 2018 Sisko Memorial Medal to Gordon Alt.

The Sisko Memorial Medal, named in honor of NSS Fellow and Board Member, John Sisko (1958-2016), is presented for distinguished service to Sculpture through programs sponsored by the National Sculpture Society.

After serving as Dean for the Chicago City Colleges and University Professor in Chicago, Alt arrived in Washington DC in 1980. While living in our nation’s capital, he worked with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as Director of the Woodlawn Plantation and Frank Lloyd Wright House Museums. Later he served as the Vice President of the American Institute of Architects Foundation and Group Executive for the AIA. In the 1990’s, Alt was the East Coast Editor of the New Art Examiner. He worked directly with David Rockefeller Sr. and two consultants to advise on the use of the John D. Rockefeller estate and its art collections and architecture for public visitation. He was the Executive Director for the International Forum and worked on art and architecture projects for Turkey, Finland, Spain and the Czech Republic. He has served on several juries and committees, including the NEA, the DC Commission on the Arts. He is currently Executive Director of the John Cavanaugh Foundation (John Cavanaugh, FNSS, 1921-1985)

Alt has been involved with the National Sculpture Society for over two decades and in that time has served on both the organization’s Board and the Sculpture Review Board.  He has worked tirelessly to promote NSS’ mission of “spreading the knowledge of good sculpture” by extending its reach to the larger public.  He has contributed to the writing and editorial duties of Sculpture Review magazine and has been instrumental in shaping the content of the 65-year-old magazine.  Alt has served on several NSS award committees and exhibition juries, gently influencing and encouraging the direction of figurative sculpture into the 21^st century. During NSS’ 2018 Sculpture Conference, Alt will give attendees a guided talk on  Cavanaugh’s “Pas de Trois” which is installed on the grounds of Brookgreen Gardens .

The Sisko Memorial Medal is a uniface medallion created by John Sisko, engraved on the reverse side with the name of the award recipient. Sisko is fondly remembered for his service as Chairman of Sculpture Review’s Editorial Board and as a Board member.  The medal will be presented on Saturday, June 23, 2018 at the Honors and Awards Dinner, which is part of the Sculpture Celebration Conference.

Image:  Pas de Trois by John Cavanaugh