Pinkowski Files

David J. Motak received the Cultural Achievement Award from the American Council for Polish Culture (ACPC) in 2011 for his Szopka work (l. to r.) Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York; Debbie Majka, President, ACPC; Cultural Achievement Award Recipient David Motak; Bernadette Wiermanski, ACPC First Vice President and Award Presenter; and Timothy Kuzma, President and CEO Polish Falcons of America.

DAVE MOTAK, artist and promoter of Polish culture
A graduate of Alliance College where he majored in Slavic Studies and Polish Culture. Dave attended the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Poland for two years as part of the Kosciuszko Foundation's academic exchange program. While at the Jagiellonian, he was a student of prominent Polish art historian Kart Estreicher, one of the first Polish academicians to promote the study of the Krakow szopka as a serious art form. His professional career has taken him to several managerial positions at the University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University and the Sweetwater Center for the Arts. He is currently Director of Communications for the Poiish Falcons of America, one of the leading Polish American benefit fraternal organizations."
Dave's contributions to Polish-American cultural life have been substantial. In addition to volunteer involvement with various regional Polish organizations, he has also traveled to Poland frequently and led cultural tours to Poland to attend the annual Szopka Competition in Krakow for six successive years. (He will lead the seventh tour this year.) In his early years, Dave helped the fledgling Polonia Dance Ensemble with fundraising and marketing efforts, as well as playing a significant role in the Polish representation at the Pittsburgh Folk Festival for many years. Since 2004, Dave has served on the Board of Directors of the Polish Cultural Council (Pittsburgh, PA) and has conceived and produced many public events, programs and public presentations representing Poland and Polonia.
Although the breadth of Dave's work has been considerable the value of his contributions to Polonia and to general cultural life are indicated by three significant awards that he has recently attained:

In 2006, he received the Polonian of the Year Award from the Polish American Congress, Western PA Division, in recognition of his cultural and artistic contributions to Polonia and the enrichment of general cultural life.

In 2009, Dave was the first Traditional Artist and the first Polish American to receive the Working Artist Award ("Artist of the Year") presented by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. One of the highest distinctions that an artist can receive in Pennsylvania. In presenting the Award, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council recognized Dave "as a leading promoter and practitioner of the Krakow Szopka art form in the United States, whose individual works, student workshops, szopka exhibitions and cultural events have shown tremendous leadership, motivation and drive in promoting his Pittsburgh-based initiative."

In December 2010, Dave was the first foreigner and the first American to enter an original szopka piece in the annual Szopka Competition in Krakow, Poland, earning a prestigious Special Award of Artistic Merit presented by the City of Krakow History Museum. His award-winning piece was on exhibit at Krakow Krzysztofory Gallery through February, 2011 and his participation was covered by Polish media.

Dave's creation of the Krakow Creche Workshop - National Szopka Project an art education project that he launched in 2003, was the result of a life long study of Polish culture folk art, his passion for his heritage and his over 20 years of experience as manager of various cultural programs within the nonprofit sector. Through intensive study and work as a producing artist, Dave has become a recognized expert on the szopka art form in the United States and is the first person to develop a sophisticated teaching methodology for this art tradition, which is not formally taught in Poland.
Dave has been very successful in bringing the arts to underserved populations and often provided need-based scholarships for his szopka workshops. As a consequence of the value that his szopka education project brings to his community, several of his educational projects have been supported by grant awards from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Pennsylvania Arts Council, the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester, NY, among others.
From: American Council for Polish Culture (ACPC) 63rd Convention Program, July 14-17, 2011, Cleveland, Ohio, at the Pope John Paul II Polish-American Cultural Center