The nomination deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 15. The nomination form is available online here.  For a print version of the form, contact Tamara Gill, (206) 733-9591 or tamara.gill@seattle.gov.

There will be five awards presented this year in the following newly created categories. All categories are open to individuals, organizations or community groups.

Future Focus: Awarded for making a difference in arts education and youth work. Previous recipients include Reel Grrls (2010) and Coyote Central and Marybeth Saterlee (2008)

Artistic City: for helping to shape Seattle as a city of creativity. Previous recipients include public artist Buster Simpson (2012) and Pratt Fine Arts Center (2011).

Venture Culturalist: Awarded for investment in our cultural community by a funder, business, donor or professional development/service organization. Previous recipients include Seattle Foundation (2004) and Artist Trust (2009).

Arts as the How: Awarded for deep and lasting impact on social issues, such as race and social justice. Previous recipients include Three Dollar Bill Cinema (2012) and Longhouse Media’s Native Lens Program (2007).

Raising the Bar: Awarded for artistic excellence. Previous recipients include Gerard Schwarz (2006) and Olivier Wevers (2012).

The Seattle Arts Commission will review public nominations and recommend recipients to the mayor for final selection. Last year more than 500 nominations were received.

Mayor Mike McGinn will honor recipients of the 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards at a public ceremony at Seattle Center, 4 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30. The afternoon will include an opening of the Visual Arts Festival at 3 p.m., Mayors Arts Awards at 4 p.m. and a concert with School of Rock at 5:30 p.m. All Friday afternoon events are free.

The awards are presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival and media sponsor City Arts magazine.

The internship is paid. Open to full-time junior and senior-level college students studying marketing, public relations, journalism, English, visual or performing arts, arts administration, or an event-management related field. The internship will begin in June and last until the first week of September 2013. Strong written and verbal communications skills are required and experience in planning, promoting and executing performing arts events is a plus.

Application deadline is 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 16. Go here to learn more and apply.

Recipients were: Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio; KEXP; Li Hengda, choreographer, artistic director and founder of the American Asian Performing Arts Theatre and Hengda Dance Academy; Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders; Seattle Arts & Lectures; Buster Simpson, public artist; Three Dollar Bill Cinema; TilibSedeb (Singing Feet), the Duwamish Tribe’s language and culture performance group; The Vera Project; and Olivier Wevers, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of contemporary dance company Whim W’Him.

Mayor Mike McGinn  spoke and Seattle Channel’s Art Zone host Nancy Guppy emceed.

Mayor Mike McGinn at the 2011 Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony. Photo by Jennifer Richard.

Join Mayor Mike McGinn in celebrating 10 years of Seattle’s creative community and this year’s award recipients at the annual Mayor’s Arts Awards, noon, Friday, Aug. 31, at Seattle Center’s North Fountain Lawn. The Bumbershoot Visual Arts Exhibits will also be open for a free public preview from 1 to 9 p.m. No reservation necessary.

In honor of the awards’ 10^th anniversary, 10 groups and individuals are being honored this year. The winners are: Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio; KEXP; Li Hengda, choreographer, artistic director and founder of the American Asian Performing Arts Theatre and Hengda Dance Academy; Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders; Seattle Arts & Lectures; Buster Simpson, public artist; Three Dollar Bill Cinema; TilibSedeb (Singing Feet), the Duwamish Tribe’s language and culture performance group; The Vera Project; and Olivier Wevers, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of contemporary dance company Whim W’Him.

The Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony is presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival with support from event sponsor Chihuly Garden and Glass and media sponsor City Arts magazine.

The honorees include three individuals and seven organizations: two dancer/choreographers, a public artist, a producer of theatrical wonders, a nonprofit acting studio, an all-ages arts venue, an alternative radio station, a cinema with a focus on LGBT film, a nonprofit literary organization and a performance group of youth from the Duwamish Tribe.

The Seattle Arts Commission recommended the recipients from a pool of more than 500 public nominations. The Mayor’s Arts Awards recognize the contributions made by artists, arts and cultural organizations and community members who make a difference through arts and cultural activities.

“Seattle’s creative energy is one of the many qualities that make it a great city. The arts inspire and connect. They are also good for our economy, creating jobs and generating revenue.” said McGinn. “This year’s award recipients reflect the diversity of arts and culture in our city and together demonstrate a commitment to access for all to enjoy and participate in the arts.”

The honorees are:

• Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio
• KEXP 90.3 FM
• Li Hengda, choreographer, dancer and artistic director
• Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders
• Seattle Arts & Lectures
• Buster Simpson, public artist
• Three Dollar Bill Cinema
• TilibSedeb (Singing Feet), Duwamish Tribe youth performance group
• The Vera Project, all-ages arts venue
• Olivier Wevers, dancer, choreographer and artistic director

The recipients will be honored at the Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony, noon, Friday, Aug. 31 at Seattle Center on the North Fountain Lawn. Presented in partnership with Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival, the outdoor, public awards ceremony will also mark the official opening of Bumbershoot’s 2012 Visual Arts Exhibits. The free public preview of the exhibits will follow the ceremony and take place from 1 to 9 p.m. in the Seattle Pavilion and the Fisher Pavilion. The broader festival gets underway Sept. 1.

Bumbershoot’s Visual Arts & Spectacle program will celebrate “The Past, The Present and The Future” of Bumbershoot’s home, Seattle Center, which is in the midst of a Next 50 celebration marking the 50^th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

The exhibits will include “Skyward!”, contemporary artwork and installations inspired by the 1960s futuristic theme of life in the sky, curated by Shelly Leavens and Jana Brevick; “This is Glass,” glass art depicting the experimental nature of the studio glass movement in the Pacific Northwest, curated by Sarah Traver and Grace Meils; and “NOW,” a large-scale, suspended neon sculpture designed by Dylan Neuwirth. Curator Beth Sellars will present a tribute exhibition to the late, urban plein-air painter Christopher Martin Hoff, who died earlier this year; Elvis experts and curators Marlow Harris and JoDavid will present an “ELVIStravaganza” of art, music and performance; and Seattle Art Museum and Olson Kundig Architects will present “SAM Record Store,” a vinyl record collection intended to serve as a “storefront of ideas.”

Bumbershoot’s Visual Arts Exhibits and the 2012 Fine Arts Poster, featuring artwork by Seattle artist James Martin, are presented with support from the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

The Mayor’s Arts Awards are nonmonetary. To reflect the diversity of artistic achievement throughout the city, the awards do not have set categories. For more information about the Mayor’s Arts Awards, including past recipients, go here.

The Mayor’s Arts Awards are presented in partnership with media sponsor City Arts, a free monthly magazine that covers art, music, film and everything creative in the Puget Sound region, and awards sponsor Chihuly Garden and Glass, a new art experience showcasing the most significant works of internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer Dale Chihuly.

This year we will celebrate the 10th annual Mayor’s Arts Awards. The awards recognize the accomplishments of artists, arts and cultural organizations and community members committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

The Seattle Arts Commission will review public nominations and recommend recipients to the mayor for final selection. The awards, which are non-monetary, are presented annually.

McGinn will honor recipients of the 2012 Mayor’s Arts Awards at a public ceremony at Seattle Center, noon, Friday, Aug. 31. He will also open the Bumbershoot Visual Arts Exhibits for a free public preview that day.

The awards are presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival and media sponsor City Arts magazine.

Go here for a list of previous recipients of the Mayor’s Arts Award.

Mayor Mike McGinn honored the recipients of the Mayor`s Arts Awards at the public ceremony on the eve of the Labor Day weekend Bumbershoot festival at Seattle Center. Nancy Guppy of Seattle Channel’s Art Zone emceed.

The award recipients are Donald Byrd, Tony-nominated choreographer; Jack Straw Productions, audio arts center; Dr. Quinton Morris, accomplished concert violinist and professor; On the Boards, one of America’s best theaters for contemporary performance; Pratt Fine Arts Center, a place named in honor of a local Civil Rights leader where everyone can make art; and Tet in Seattle, the producer of Tet in Seattle, a cultural festival that opens doors to our Vietnamese community.

Nearly 500 people came out for the Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony held at Seattle Center’s North Fountain Lawn last Thursday. Mayor Mike McGinn honored the recipients, and Nancy Guppy, host of Seattle Channel’s Art Zone with Nancy Guppy, emceed the ceremony. The celebration featured the official opening of Bumbershoot’s 2011 Visual Arts Exhibits.

The event was presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival with support from event sponsor Chihuly Garden and Glass and media sponsor City Arts magazine.

The 2011 award recipients are: Donald Byrd, Tony-nominated choreographer; Jack Straw Productions, audio arts center; Dr. Quinton Morris, accomplished concert violinist and teacher; On the Boards, one of America’s best theaters for contemporary performance; Pratt Fine Arts Center, a place named in honor of a local Civil Rights leader where everyone can make art; and Tet in Seattle, the producer of Tet in Seattle, a cultural festival that opens doors to our Vietnamese community. Nancy Guppy, host of Seattle Channel’s Art Zone with Nancy Guppy, will emcee the outdoor ceremony.

If you plan to attend the ceremony, make sure you get a sneak peak at the Bumbershoot Visual Arts Exhibits. They will be open for a free public preview from 3 to 9 p.m. and it’s a great way to kick off or close your First Thursday. Immediately following the awards ceremony, local celebrity chef Tom Douglas will serve up some of his favorite summertime recipes for free near the visual exhibits. Douglas will offer gourmet bites from a food truck, which is touring the nation as part of Macy’ Chefs A-Go-Go tour.

The Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony is presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival with support from event sponsor Chihuly Garden and Glass and media sponsor City Arts magazine.