Nominations for newly named Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts due soon

Feb. 8, 2018

Nominations for the Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts are being accepted by the Sioux Falls Arts Council through Feb. 12.

Held annually from 1999-2009 and biannually since 2012, this arts awards program is in for a few changes this year, 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,” said 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.”

In addition to its new name, the awards also will 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 also will include a Forward Arts Award, which is a retooling 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 longtime 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 March 15 in a free, public event at Augustana University’s Humanities Center at 6 p.m.

Visit artssiouxfalls.org to access the nomination form and see a history of honorees. Email completed forms to [email protected]. For information, call the Sioux Falls Arts Council at 605-271-6696.

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Nominations for newly named Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts due soon

Nominations for the Sioux Falls Awards in the Arts are being accepted by the Sioux Falls Arts Council through Feb. 12.

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