Longtime Garde Arts Center board member and avid supporter Phil Michalowski has been named a Connecticut Arts Hero.

The CT Arts Hero Awards, chosen by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, will be bestowed on this year’s nine winners at a Jan. 24 ceremony at Infinity Hall in Hartford.

The awards honor Connecticut residents who are doing inspiring things in, for, or through the arts in the state.

Garde Executive Director Steve Sigel said of Michalowski, “You couldn’t have a more passionate advocate and participant.”

Michalowski said he didn’t know Sigel had nominated him as a CT Arts Hero and so was pleasantly surprised when he got an email saying he was selected.

He is retired from working as a municipal planner and development administrator. The New Britain native has been a New London resident for more than five decades.

He started volunteering with the Garde in 1990, helping the Board of Trustees get funding to develop the performing arts center.

Michalowski, 81, recalled that his association with the Garde began when Frank Londregan stopped him on the street and told him the Garde needed a planner and suggested that Michalowski get involved. Londregan said it was only one meeting a month.

Michalowski said with a laugh that, 35 years later, he still goes into the theater three or four days a week.

“It’s been a blessing for me personally to get involved, having spent a career in municipal planning and recognizing how performing arts centers are really essential institutions in the communities they exist in,” he said.

Michalowski isn’t an artist but calls himself an art appreciator. He noted there are a lot of board members who are essential to arts organizations, providing stewardship, financial support and a variety of skills.

Sigel said that Michalowski has been particularly good at talking with authority and experience to government officials about projects over the years. He is knowledgeable about the process and what obstacles might arise in any large private/public funded project.

Right now, Michalowski’s main work at the Garde is shepherding the next phase of development, which involves a grant from the city to build out the theater’s loading areas, taking over a chunk of Gov. Winthrop Boulevard.

Michalowski not only works behind the scenes, but he also loves to attend shows. Sigel said that the Garde’s database can generate a list of the total lifetime ticket value of individual customers — and Michalowski is #1. Sigel has told Michalowski that, if he isn’t sure he wants to go to a certain show, he can get comp tickets. But Michalowski has demurred, telling him, “What’s the purpose of that? That’s not how the Garde is going to survive.”

Michalowski said, “My wife and I both love to go to shows. It’s something we do for personal enjoyment and the community that you meet — that may be the biggest draw. I’ve met so many people that I would never have had an opportunity to cross paths with, in the informal setting of the theater.”

And it’s not just shows at the Garde. Michalowski attends arts events all over the city, from the Hygienic to The Social. Sigel said there are very few artforms Michalowski isn’t curious about.

Sigel wrote in his nomination that Michalowski’s “insight and skill are only exceeded by his modesty as he never puts himself in the spotlight, just the work of others and a focus on outcomes.”

Michalowski doesn’t like to talk about himself and typically steers the conversation to other subjects, like the Garde and volunteering in the community. He talked about how the former movie palace creates “a distinct space unlike what is our normal environment and transporting you away from your normal day-to-day life to something unique. It provides a respite from the normal pressures that folks have.”

He spoke very highly of the Garde staff and talked up the diverse programming, which is constantly changing and evolving.

Michalowski also wanted to encourage people to volunteer on boards and committees of nonprofit organizations, whether those organizations are art-based or are Little League teams or are focused on maritime activities in the area.

“It’s a great, great way to meet people in your community who seem to all turn out to be interesting folks that are worth conversations with,” Michalowski said. “You’re making the community a richer place, and you’re probably doing something positive for yourself just because the experience that you have is fulfilling to you.”

k.dorsey@theday.com