The Kindred Healthcare Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award: Harry Pickens

Harry Pickens

This award honors someone who has demonstrated lifetime achievement in the arts in Greater Louisville – Harry Pickens. An award-winning performing artist, educator, composer, author, workshop facilitator and life transformation coach, Pickens is a modern-day Renaissance man. His career as a jazz pianist has taken him to 17 countries throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas, featuring collaborative performances with many of the world’s brightest jazz stars, including Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, James Moody and more. As a composer, Pickens has produced works for the likes of Wendell Berry and StageOne Family Theatre, and his composition “The Awakening Heart” was featured in a personal performance for the Dalai Lama. In 2009, Pickens received the Kentucky Governor’s Award for the Arts in Education, the state’s highest honor in the creative and performing arts.

Photo Credit: Tim Harris