COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) today announced the recipients of the 2024 Columbus Makes Art Excellence Awards. The awards were announced as part of GCAC’s Big Arts Night held at the Southern Theatre and Westin Great Southern Hotel, an adaptation of its annual Community Arts Partnership Awards program.
The Columbus Makes Art Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievements in innovation, risk and artistic excellence in a performance, exhibition, program or project. One $20,000 award was given in each category of organizations with budgets of under $1 million and those with budgets of $1 million and over. For the first time, each of the four finalists for the Columbus Makes Arts Awards will receive $2,500.
The 2024 nominees are:
Organizations with budgets of under $1 million
- 934 Gallery, Pay Artists
- Columbus Cultural Orchestra, 2024 Black History Month Outreach Tour
- Education Foundation for Freedom, 2024 Columbus Women & Girls’ Fest
The winner of the 2024 Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award for a budget under $1 million is 934 Gallery, Pay Artists.
Organizations with budgets of $1 million and over
- CAPA, Walk With Amal
- Columbus Symphony, Nas with the Columbus Symphony
- Lincoln Theatre Association, Performing Arts Design and Development Initiative
The winner of the 2024 Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award for a budget $1 million and over is Lincoln Theatre Association, Performing Arts Design and Development Initiative.
Videos honoring all the nominees, showcasing the winners and announcing the Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award recipients can be viewed on GCAC’s YouTube Big Arts Night Playlist.
In late September, the following award winners were announced. In addition to the award, two of the recipients will be gifted a piece from a local artist, purchased by GCAC:
- Jim Arter Arts Educator Award: BHB, nominated by Jackie Calderone, receiving $5,000.
- Michael B. Coleman Arts Partner Awards: Angela Pace, receiving Exhale: Grounded, Present and Still and Michael S. Brown receiving Speak Series #2, both works by April Sunami.
- Dale E. Heydlauff Community Arts Innovation Awards: Opera Columbus’ Crane Directing Fellowship + Observership, and Strings, Out of the Box, Urban Strings Columbus. Each Heydlauff Award winner receives a $5,000 prize; Dale Heydlauff provided matching funds to make these awards possible.
During the night’s event, GCAC also celebrated recipients of other significant awards, including:
- Raymond J. Hanley Award: Byron Stripling, receiving $15,000.
- Artists Elevated Awards: Antoine T. Clark, Gerardo Encinas, Orlando Hunter-Valentine, Travis Chi Wing Lau, Christopher Leyva, Andrea Myers and Mike Olenick. Each received $25,000 earlier this fall. The awards are supported in part by Nick and Donna Akins.
See full details of those award nominees and winners at: gcac.org/press-release/gcac-2024-community-arts-partnership-awards-nominees-winners
To see a complete list of nominees, visit the Big Arts Night page here: gcac.org/big-arts-night
The 2024 Big Arts Night and Community Arts Partnership Awards program is supported in part by Bath & Body Works, PNC, Nick and Donna Akins, CAPA, Dale E. Heydlauff, Mills James Productions and ZenGenius.
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To champion and elevate the arts and cultural expression of Greater Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners, The Ohio State University and the Ohio Arts Council.
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
