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Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho presented six awards Thursday evening on behalf of the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council to recognize what he calls an essential element of the community.

"The arts are who we are," he said during remarks at the 2nd annual Mayor's Awards For the Arts.

Dozens of people gathered at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center to pay tribute to artists, volunteers, and patrons of the arts of the capital. The intention of the JAHC was to host an event that highlights all the contributions made to the arts in the community - both seen and unseen, Executive Director Nancy DeCherney said.

"The whole purpose of it is to let all the people know that all the wonderful things that you like to do in Juneau happen because there are a lot of people making it happen and we want to recognize those people," she said. "Sometimes they're behind the scene and you don't know who they are. And we want other people to get involved."

It is difficult to imagine Juneau without its vibrant arts scene because of its role in the social fabric of the community, Botelho said.

"It provides the vitality," he said. "It provides the social networking in the community. I think it's one of the functions, particularly, that music provides."

The awards were presented to Julia Bastuscheck for arts educator, Candy and Dick Behrends of Behrends Mechanical for business leadership, Alice Tersteeg for innovation application, Jim Simard for volunteer, and Ron and Kathy Maas for being patrons of the arts.

Barbara Craver, who was unable to attend, was given the artist award. Craver is founder of Plein Rein Painters, a local group of artists that meet on Saturday mornings regardless of weather to paint outdoors.

Ron and Kathy Maas, who are both involved in Juneau's music scene with the Thunder Mountain Big Band and Juneau Symphony respectively, were honored for the numerous contributions to arts in the community in their behalf.

"We try to do what we can to involve ourselves," Ron Maas said. "We try to donate to good causes - musical causes."

Maas said that he also believes that the arts play an important role in the community.

"I've always been impressed, we both have, that there are so many artistic efforts going on here in Juneau, and we're very much in support of them," he said. "We enjoy them and we like to participate in them."

Bastuscheck, also a member of the Juneau Symphony, was recognized for her continued work in local schools and for her creative fund-raising to purchase musical instruments for students. She is particularly involved in the string programs in the schools and her student ensembles have earned notable success.

Simard was recognized for his volunteering efforts of designing and creating lighting systems for numerous local organizations, including Opera to Go and Theatre in the Rough. He also has done lighting for many of the different artistic venues in the community.

The Behrends were recognized for their time and resources given to the arts in the community, specifically for their assistance with the renovation of the JACC.

Tersteeg, a professor of art and the Art Department chairman at the University of Alaska Southeast, was recognized for her more than 30-year service to the university. She was a key player in developing a Bachelor of Art degree at UAS.

Tersteeg said the arts plays multiple key roles in the community, including the important economic role it plays during the tourism season.

"They certainly are looking for artwork when they come to any town in Alaska," she said. "It's always been important for the artwork."

With the exception of Gold Medal and the salmon derbies, many of the key calendar events in the community revolve around the arts, Botelho said.

"The major calendar of Juneau, aside from the school calendar, is an arts calendar," he said. "And that's how we celebrate together. It's integral to who we are."

• Contact reporter Eric Morrison at 523-2269 or eric.morrison@juneauempire.com.