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.

Seattle Public Schools just announced a $1 million planning grant to enhance arts instruction in the schools. We opened two calls for artists. The 2011 Mayor’s Arts Awards are coming up soon. The Seattle Mural at Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheatre is getting a facelift. And Pioneer Square’s Occidental Square has turned into an experimental art gallery.

Read about all this and more here.

Go to the Online Nomination Form.

Mayor Mike McGinn will present the awards at a ceremony, Thursday, Sept. 1, at Seattle Center in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Seattle Arts Commission and the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. The milestone is a celebration of the extraordinary creative community that has been shaping our city for many years. We invite you to tell us about people or organizations that have made a significant impact in the arts in Seattle during the last four decades.

Questions? Contact Tamara Gill, (206) 733-9591.

In this issue:

Message from our new acting director, Vincent Kitch.

Kick off the anniversary celebration of our 40th anniversary at the opening reception of the retrospective exhibition Seattle as Collector: Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs Turns 40.

The community is invited to celebrate the life and achievements of devoted arts leader Melissa Hines at a public memorial service, May 9.

Celebrate Arts Education Month in Washington state.

Know an individual or an organization making a difference in Seattle through arts and culture? Nominate them for a 2011 Mayor’s Arts Award.

We’re seeking an undergraduate college intern to support our public art conservation and maintenance program.

Free workshops are available for arts organizations interested in applying for our Civic Partners funding program.

Mark your calendar! The 2012 CityArtist Projects online application will open Monday, May 23.

From centuries-old instruments to degenerate art, get your update on the local arts scene on Art Zone with Nancy Guppy.

In this Issue:

• Know an individual or an organization making a difference in Seattle through arts and culture? Nominate them for a 2011 Mayor’s Arts Award.

• On Monday, April 4, we’ll open applications for the city’s Civic Partners funding program.

• The city is seeking artists to bring temporary site-specific art and performances to Occidental Square.

• We’re seeking an artist or artist team to create a temporary, site-specific public art project for the new Jackson Street Plaza at King Street Station.

• Artist Jennifer Dixon will create a public artwork for a fence that is part of the Linden Avenue North corridor along Seattle’s Interurban Trail.

• The opening for Storefronts Seattle will be 6 p.m., Thursday, April 7.

• The exhibition Animalia will be on view at Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery April 5 through July 5.

• Seattle Parks and Recreation seeks proposals for curriculum-based visual and performing arts programs at five parks.

• Explore Seattle’s connections with Japan and learn about earthquake and tsunami relief efforts at the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival at Seattle Center.

• Poetry, art and rock ‘n’ roll on Art Zone with Nancy Guppy this month.

Image: John Ackermann in AWESOME’s Savory Onyx Machine performed in a Storefornt Seattle space during a special Arts Crush event presented by Theater Puget Sound. Photo by Mike Hipple.

“Forty years ago during another difficult economy, city leaders founded the Seattle Arts Commission because they believed support for the arts would enrich urban life. They were right. The arts have helped make Seattle the rich cultural city it is today” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “I look forward to honoring the inspiring accomplishments of artists and cultural organizations that have been shaping our city for many years.”

As the goal of the awards is to reflect the diversity of artistic achievement throughout the city, there are no preset award categories. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the Seattle Arts Commission and the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. Nominators are encouraged to mark the milestone by putting forward people or organizations that have made a significant impact in the arts in Seattle during the last four decades.

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. This is the ninth year of the awards.

McGinn will honor recipients of the 2011 Mayor’s Arts Awards at a public ceremony at Seattle Center, 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1. 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.