Sioux Falls, SD (January 17, 2018) Nominations for the Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts are now being accepted by the Sioux Falls Arts Council through February 12, 2018.
Held annually from 1999-2009 and bi-annually since 2012, this arts awards program is in for a few changes in 2018, starting with its name.
“We’ve opted to call this program the Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts rather than the Mayor’s Awards to keep the emphasis on the larger community nature of the awards and on the recipients,” says Kara Dirkson, Executive Director of the Sioux Falls Arts Council. “At their heart, these awards are about bringing the community together to celebrate local achievements in the arts. The new name captures that sentiment,” continues Dirkson.
In addition to its new name, the Awards will also have a new category called the Innovative Project Award which will recognize a collaborative project that has allowed residents to experience the arts in a new way. It will also include a Forward Arts Award which is a re-tooling of its former Advocacy Award.
Nominations are being sought in the following categories:
Individual Excellence Awards for Artists (Three individual awards in any arts discipline) Recognizes individual performing, music, visual or literary artists whose contributions have raised the bar in their artistic specialty, made an impact on the professional development of other artists or forged new paths in connecting their work to the community.
Forward Arts Award
Honors an organization or business that has helped move education, creation or awareness of the arts forward in a meaningful way.
Innovative Project Award
Recognizes a project characterized by meaningful partnerships between or among private businesses, public bodies, individual artists, and organizations. This award seeks to recognize partnerships that created a new way for the community at large to experience the arts.
Charlotte Carver Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts
Named for the first Executive Director of the South Dakota Arts Council and a long-time advocate and friend of the arts, this award honors an individual or organization that has demonstrated an enduring, long-term dedication to the arts.
The Awards ceremony and reception will be held Thursday, March 15 at Augustana University’s Humanities Center at 6 PM. The public is welcome to attend this free event.
Please click here to access the nomination form and see a history of honorees. Email completed forms to info@artssiouxfalls.org. For more information, call the Sioux Falls Arts Council at (605) 271-6696.