The Governor’s Arts & Heritage Awards recognize Washington’s outstanding arts and cultural leaders, artists, culture bearers, and organizations. ArtsWA administers the awards on behalf of the Governor.
📆 Nomination deadline: Friday, June 16, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.
🔔 Award notifications: early September
🏆 Award ceremony: November 15, 2023, at the Governor’s residence in Olympia, Washington
Anyone from Washington State who is eligible can be nominated. ArtsWA values diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe in diverse forms of artistic expression. We strongly encourage nominations that reflect communities across the state, including historically underserved communities.
Nominees must:
Additional rules:
Selection panel and Governor approval. A selection panel reviews nominations and makes recommendations. ArtsWA’s Board of Commissioners review the panel’s recommendations and sends selections to the Governor for final approval.
Evaluation criteria. The selection panel evaluates all nominations with two shared criterions:
The selection panel also considers specific criteria for individual categories as listed below.
🏆 The Individual Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to Washington’s arts landscape or its cultural heritage. The selection panel will evaluate Individual Award nominees on the strength or impact of their creative work. ArtsWA will name 2 awardees for this category.
🏆 The Organization Award recognizes an organization who has made significant contributions to Washington’s arts landscape or its cultural heritage. The selection panel will evaluate Organization Award nominees for their impact on Washington creativity and cultural expression. ArtsWA will name 2 awardees for this category.
🏆 The Community Impact Award recognizes an individual, organization, or group that has dedicated significant time and effort to positively impact the creative economy, the arts, or cultural heritage in their local community. The selection panel will evaluate Community Impact Award nominees on the significance of their activities.
🏆 The Educator Award recognizes an individual who has provided outstanding instruction in creative practice or cultural heritage. The selection panel will evaluate Educator Award nominees on the strength or impact of their educational work.
🏆 The Young Leader Award recognizes an individual between the ages of 18 and 35 who has shown outstanding impact through artistic practice or cultural heritage activities. The selection panel will evaluate Youth Award nominees on the strength or impact of their activities.
🏆 The Legacy Award recognizes an individual who has shown outstanding impact through creative practice or cultural preservation for at least 20 years. The selection panel will evaluate Legacy Award nominees on the significance and lasting impact of their activities.
ArtsWA will select an Arts & Heritage Champion Award honoree. This award recognizes an individual or organization that has shown extraordinary commitment to the vitality of arts & heritage in Washington State. Nominations are not accepted for this award.
Apply online through Submittable before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 16, 2023.
You can submit up to 10 work samples. These can include any combination of:
Submit your work samples as digital files no larger than 4 MB each. Please note that panels generally spend a brief amount of time on work samples. Choose samples that will provide meaningful representation and impact.
Images
Submit images as individual files or as multiple images in a single PDF. We prefer jpg for individual files.
Audio
Submit up to 3 audio samples. Each selection should be no more than 2 minutes long. Upload each as a separate file. You may also upload a document with live links (see below).
Video
Submit up to 3 video samples. We recommend uploading links or documents with live links (see below). You may upload the files directly if they are less than 4 MB. Video files should be no more than 3 minutes long.
Literary samples
Submit up to 15 pages of literary work. We prefer a text document or a PDF.
Document with live links
You can submit a text document or PDF with “live links” (hyperlinked URLs). We encourage you to include a brief narrative. For websites, list the URLs for the pages you would like the reviewers to see.
ArtsWA is thrilled to announce the 2022 Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award honorees.
Individual Artist | Yegizaw (Yeggy) Michael
Organization | One Reel
Legacy | Robb Hunt
Advocacy | Dow Constantine
Community Organization | MusicWorks4Veterans
Individual | Yvonne A.K. Johnson
Individual | Carol Emarthle-Douglas
Individual | Deepti Agrawal
Organization | Historic Lincoln Theatre
Thank you to everyone who sent in a nomination. Your stories revealed the amazing arts-based work being done to lift people up across the state. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for more news about these honorees and the digital celebration.
We invite you to watch a special virtual presentation of the 2022 Governor’s Arts & Heritage Awards. Meet the nine extraordinary honorees who are working to keep arts and heritage vibrant across Washington State.
The 2021 Governor’s Arts & Heritage Luminary Awards streamed live on Thursday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. PST on YouTube. We invite everyone to enjoy this free presentation.
ArtsWA is thrilled to announce the 2021 Governor’s Arts & Heritage Luminary Award honorees.
Spotlight honoree | The Governor’s Spotlight award is given to an individual chosen by the Governor for their extraordinary use of the arts and humanities to benefit their community during the pandemic. Join us in celebrating:
Governor’s Spotlight | Delbert Richardson
Regional honorees | These exceptional individuals and organizations used the arts and humanities to shine a light for their communities during the darkness of the pandemic. Join us in celebrating:
Southwest Region | Organization – Asia Pacific Cultural Center
Southwest Region | Individual – Douglas Orr
Central Region | Organization – Gallery One
Eastern Region | Organization – Spokane Valley Summer Theatre
Eastern Region | Individual – Jeremy Whittington
Northwest Region | Organization – Path with Art
Northwest Region | Individual – Akuyea Karen Vargas
Thank you to everyone who sent in a nomination. Your stories revealed the amazing arts-based work being done to lift people up across the state.
The Governor’s Arts Awards, established in 1966, recognize outstanding individuals and organizations for their significant contributions to the arts and cultural development of Washington State.
The Governor’s Heritage Awards, established in 1989, honor outstanding individuals and organizations whose dedication to preserving and promoting traditions and cultural heritage are worthy of state recognition.
