INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR MULTIGENERATIONAL LEGACIES OF TRAUMA ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS

NEW YORK—Oct. 21, 2022—The International Center for Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma (ICMGLT) is pleased to announce the 2022 winners of its Repairer awards, granted to outstanding artists whose body of work exemplifies the values of the Center in advocating for victims of trauma and educating the public about the lingering effects of trauma across the generations.

The REPAIRER EXCELLENCE AWARD goes to playwright and teaching artist D.W. Gregory, “For utilizing her exquisite, accessible playwriting to educate and inspire change by exposing the destructive legacies of systemic conspiracies of silence” — for her difficult, truth-telling play Radium Girls, about the women who were poisoned working in New Jersey’s watchdial industry, as well as many other plays that similarly explore social inequities created by the imbalance of power in American culture. Radium Girls has received more than 1,500 productions around the world. For five years in a row, it has been among the most produced plays in U.S. high schools.

The REPAIRER RECOGNITION AWARD is given to Irish singer-songwriter and author Declan O’Rourke “for applying his abundant talents and empathic knowledge to convey the horrors of the Great Hunger for future generations of Ireland and the world.” 17 years in gestation, his acclaimed Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine presented a series of real-life accounts from this tragic period in song form. In 2021, The Pawnbroker’s Reward, his outstanding first literary work, a bestseller in Ireland, expanded on the theme and focused on the plight of one family, “Proffering reassurance in the face of inevitable sorrow,” – Jon Pareles, New York Times.

The ICMGLT is an international organization based in New York City. Its mission is to increase awareness and understanding of the multigenerational nature and legacies of trauma. It seeks to enhance assessment, effective expression, treatment and prevention and acts as a clearinghouse for literature and expertise in all related professions and traditions. In addition to awarding achievements across related disciplines, it generates and supports research.

The awards were announced by Dr. Yael Danieli, founder and executive director of the ICMGLT, at an awards ceremony Oct. 21.

“In their relevance to today’s events, the work of these artists shines a stark light on the meaning of intergenerational legacies of trauma at the core of the Center’s mission as they address the injustices and dishonesty that leads to abuse of the vulnerable—whether it be through exposure to radiation, or hunger as a weapon,” Danieli said.

More information about the Center and its work can be found at https://icmglt.org