About the awards

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.

Important dates

📆 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

2023 Award categories

• 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.

Who can be nominated?

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:

• have made significant contributions to Washington arts and culture
• be either 1) a current Washington resident OR 2) have resided in Washington when contributions were made
• not be a previous Governor’s Arts or Heritage Award recipient

Additional rules:

• You may nominate yourself. 
• You may nominate someone posthumously.
• You may nominate only one individual or organization in each award cycle.
• Nominators and nominees can work together to complete a nomination form. 
• If multiple nominations are submitted for a single nominee, panelists will only review the first submission.
• ArtsWA will only accept applications submitted electronically through Submittable. 
• ArtsWA will make no exceptions regarding the application deadline. 

Submittable tips

• Saving: Save your Nomination form as you work on it by clicking the "Save Draft" button located at the end of this webpage. You can log out and log back in, take a break, or work on your application over several days without losing your data. Note! The 'Save Draft' button will only work if you are connected to the internet. If you are working on the form in a place without internet, or where the connection is spotty, we advise drafting your responses in Word (or any  word processing program) and then copying and pasting them into the form when you have reliable internet again.
• Collaboration: If multiple people will be contributing to a nomination of an individual, invite them to collaborate by clicking on the "Invite Collaborators" button located at the top right of this webpage.
• Required Questions: Questions marked with a red asterisk '*' must be completed before you submit your nomination. You will not be able to submit your nomination if any required questions have been left unanswered.
• Submitting: Once you have completed your nomination, click the "Submit" button at the end of this webpage. You will receive an automated email confirming that your nomination has been successfully submitted.
• Print or download a copy of your nomination by navigating to your "Personal Submissions" account list. Click on your nomination submission. This will open up the submission's details page, where you can click the Download button in the upper right of the viewing box.

Questions?

Britt Madsen, Grants To Organizations Program Specialist | britt.madsen@arts.wa.gov | 360-485-1509 

About ArtsWA

ArtsWA is the Washington State Arts Commission, a state government agency established in 1961. ArtsWA works to be a catalyst for the arts, advancing the role of the arts in the lives of individuals and communities throughout the state. Programs include Art in Public Places, Arts in Education, Grants to Organizations, and other special projects. For more information visit arts.wa.gov.