Arts advocate recognized for life-long impact

At 77, Patricia Murphy Pizzo still has the energy to play baseball with her grandchildren in the backyard during their frequent visits. She has demonstrated that kind of energy throughout her career, said her daughter, Fiora Pizzo Alicea. Pizzo created the Friends of Art Bookshop 37 years ago, volunteering for 14 years there to generate numerous scholarships for fine arts students. \n"It's surprising how energetic she is at 77," Pizzo Alicea said.\nMurphy Pizzo has been a longtime community member dedicated to artistic development in Bloomington, said Tom Rhea, director of the Friends of Art. \nIn the Bloomington Area Arts Council's effort to recognize leaders of the art community, the organization will present Murphy Pizzo with the Arts Advocate Award today, which honors excellence in supporting the arts. She is among many people being honored at the second annual BAAC Arts Leadership Awards. \nOriginally from the suburbs of Chicago, Murphy Pizzo has been a Bloomington resident since 1951. From renovating theater buildings such as the Buskirk-Chumley Theater to serving as a board member for scholarship committees, she has played a large part in shaping the culture of this community. \nA strong woman with a dominating attitude, she's known as a committed leader, Rhea said.\n"She's very forceful in opinion, which is great at board meetings, and as a leader, she doesn't show indecisiveness," he said. \nMurphy Pizzo has contributed to politics and community education, but the art scene dominates her achievements.\n"Art opens minds and hearts," Murphy Pizzo said. "It's about being able to help people who produce art and to enable the public to access art."\nCreating grants and scholarships has served as a source of motivation, she said. Her consistent effort to create opportunities for others dates back to her childhood.\n"To my mother, it's about finally being in a position where she can provide opportunities that she never received as a child" Pizzo Alicea said. "My mother did not have a blessed childhood. They were poor, she had unhealthy, sick parents ... the stories you hear. She had a nightmare of a childhood." \nMurphy Pizzo's involvement with art came as an accident, however.\n"I was a religion major," she said. "I went to the registration office at IU, and I was pressed on time -- I had to pick up my daughter from kindergarten. They told me I was a fine arts major, and I didn't have time to argue with them."\nShe never corrected them. \n"I decided to stick to it for awhile, and that changed my life."\nHer history with the art community ranges from when she was down on her hands and knees helping renovate the Buskirk-Chumley Theater to her time as a docent at the IU Art Museum. She also has participated in opera and theater circles, attended numerous art openings and sponsored performances, and she has been a part of the Monroe County Library's Arts Council for 15 years. She also is a charter member of Friends of the Lilly Library.\nAlthough she said she comes home "exhausted" more often than not, she's still not one to talk about her accomplishments. \n"With my mother, her actions speak louder than words," said her son Seth Pizzo. "She doesn't go about patting herself on the back for the things she does. She sees it in the context of having a good time."\nHer daughter agreed.\n"My mother doesn't think she deserves this award," Pizzo Alicea said. "She's still embarrassed that I nominated her." \nIn a community she describes as "tremendously rich" in culture, Murphy Pizzo has supported Bloomington's art scene and is being recognized for her life-long commitment to arts advocacy.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Christine Jang at chrjang@indiana.edu.