Governor's Arts Awards

The Arkansas Arts Council is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Governor’s Arts Awards program, according to Joy Pennington, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Council. The annual awards recognize Arkansans for their outstanding contributions to the arts community.

Nominations will be accepted in seven categories: Arts Community Development, Arts in Education, Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts, Individual Artist, Folklife, Patron and Lifetime Achievement. Each nomination will be judged on the significance of the contributions made, the range of the individuals and groups served and the length of time and degree of the activity or contributions.

Governor’s Arts Awards nomination forms are available from the Arkansas Arts Council at (501) 324-9766, at info@arkansasarts.org or the Arts Council website at www.arkansasarts.org. The deadline for nominations is May 2, 2008. The recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony and luncheon during the ArtLinks 2008 Annual Arts Conference in Little Rock in October.

The Arkansas Arts Council was established in 1971 to develop and implement a comprehensive statewide program for the support of the arts in Arkansas. The Arts Council carries out a program of services and grants-in-aid supporting arts endeavors that have significance and that encourage and assist artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. In addition, the Arts Council assists other relevant arts projects including surveys, research and planning for the arts.

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage (DAH) and shares the goals of all of its agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Other DAH agencies are: Arkansas Historic

Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.