Arts United celebrated the 2026 Arts United Awards tonight in a ceremony at Parkview Physicians Group ArtsLab, downtown at Arts Campus Fort Wayne. The recipients of the 2026 Arts United Awards are outstanding people, organizations, and projects making significant contributions to communities in Northeast Indiana through arts and culture. 

 

Outstanding Volunteer

Susan Keefer

Susan Keefer is a retired choral and general music educator whose teaching career spanned from 1973 to 2016 at Wabash Jr.-Sr. High School (Wabash City Schools). Over the years, Susan has served the Wabash community through music in a variety of roles. Mrs. Keefer founded the Wabash High School Symphonic Voices & Debonairs, served as interim music director for Wabash Christian Church during her time as the choir accompanist and organist, and was a part-time choral music director until 2021 at Southwood Jr./Sr High School (MSD of Wabash County) post-retirement. Susan is active in the Wabash Musicale Club, recently directing the chorus in rehearsals and performances, and performs in other community events, such as the Madrigal Dinner at Honeywell Center and the Jolly Trolley.

 

Emerging Artist

Emma Humbarger

Emma Humbarger is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative journey began on stage before expanding into tech, production, and design. She currently works at Fort Wayne Youtheatre, where she supports young performers in their artistic growth, and serves as a graphic design intern in Ivy Tech Community College’s marketing office. Alongside her professional work, Emma is pursuing a degree in Visual Communications at Ivy Tech, integrating design, organization, and visual storytelling across her practice. She plans to continue her education in Art and Communications at Purdue University Fort Wayne to deepen her impact as both a creator and educator in the arts.

 

Distinguished Artist

George Morrison

George Morrison, after retiring in 2008 from the architectural firm he founded in 1981 (Morrison Kattman Menze, Inc better known now as MKM Architecture and Design), became a prolific artist in the mediums of ceramics, wood, and 3D printing. He worked as a full-time sculptor, and he has been commissioned for public art throughout his artistic career. George has shared his expertise as an adjunct instructor of ceramics at the University of Saint Francis and across the United States.

 

Outstanding Artistic Endeavor

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art and Bill Blass Legacy, Inc, presented “Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II” August 2 through October 26, 2025, in the Museum’s galleries at 311 E. Main Street. Through archival photography, sketches, and a full-scale replica, the exhibition told the story of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a top-secret WWII unit—the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in US Army history. The unit waged war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects, and even phony generals, using imagination and illusion to trick the enemy while saving thousands of lives. Fort Wayne’s hometown hero, Bill Blass, was featured in the exhibition as an official member of the 603rd Camouflage Battalion.

 

Margaret Ann Keegan Award for Arts Education

Colleen Phillips

Colleen Phillips has been a music educator in Fort Wayne Community Schools for the last 21 years. She has taught middle and high school students orchestra, concert band, jazz band, pep band, marching band, and choir, growing and improving these programs. As the orchestra director at Memorial Park Middle School, Colleen started the Hot Mess Mariachi program, one of the only student mariachi programs in Indiana, and is involved in the B Instrumental program. Colleen is also the program director for Believe In A Dream’s Master the Music program, providing students the opportunity to jam with their strings at community events and play on a stage with hundreds of other young string players at the String Dreams Concert. Through Colleen’s work, $80,000 has been invested in 15 local orchestra programs since 2011.

 

Kristi Unger

Kristi Unger is celebrating her 30th year in education, bringing experience as a former classroom teacher into nearly a decade of service with Honeywell Arts & Entertainment, where she has worked since 2017. In 2018, she expanded her knowledge by becoming a certified Arts Integration Specialist. Kristi now serves as the Director of Education at Honeywell Arts & Entertainment, where she leads initiatives that inspire creativity and learning through the arts.

 

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dick Stoner

Dick Stoner, The Magical Laughmaster, has been a staple of Fort Wayne arts, culture, and entertainment for more than eighty years. Inspired by his father to become a magician, Dick has performed his comedy magic act at shows, concerts, and events worldwide since 1943. He founded Stoner’s FunStore in 1949 and has been satisfying Fort Wayne’s taste for the unusual and offbeat ever since. In the world of magic, there is a saying among the great master magicians that encapsulates Dick’s imperative influence on the art form: “When I grow up, I want to be like Dick Stoner.”

 

Mayor’s Arts Award

Something Happened in Our Town

Fort Wayne Youtheatre’s 2025 production of Something Happened in Our Town was a powerful and timely artistic endeavor that used theatre as a catalyst for dialogue, reflection, and community engagement. Presented in partnership with United Front and Fort Wayne Urban League, the production explored the aftermath of a police shooting of an unarmed Black man through the eyes of children, inviting audiences to consider issues of race, justice, grief, and civic responsibility in an age-appropriate yet deeply meaningful way. These partnerships reinforced that the production was not only raising awareness, but also connecting audiences to real-world resources, support, education, and action.

 

To learn more about the 2026 Arts United Awards and view a full list of nominees for other categories, visit artsunited.org/advocacy/awards.