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2015 Cleveland Arts Prize Winners Range From Eye-Popping Painters to Musical Tastemakers

The winners of the 2015 Cleveland Arts Prize range from a globally respected optical art pioneer, to a pair of brothers who helped Cleveland rock.

Special honoree Julian Stanczak actually won the Arts Prize previously in 1969, when he was one of the leading advocates of what was popularly known as "Op Art" --- those vibrating collections of parallel lines in vibrant colors.  In 2008, when the legendary artist was a spry 79, he said he loved turning new audiences onto art.

JULIAN STANCZAK: I get more inspiration out of people who never saw art, never went to the museum. Children, they respond. And they say, "It has something. It has some magic" They don't know how to describe it. They will say, "I like that".

Concert promoters Jules and Michael Belkin get the nod for helping curate the popular music tastes of Northeast Ohio over the course of a half century.  

Composer H. Leslie Adams wins the honor for his lifetime of achievements in music.  

Also being celebrated are urban planner William Gould, writer Mary Weems, painters Michaelangelo Lovelace and Gianna Commito, and dancer Felise Bagley.

All the Arts Prize winners will officially get their recognitions at a special awards program at the Cleveland Museum of Art on June 25th.