ARTSWIN Art Award nominations in multiple categories open until May 30th

WNIN | By Ella Nelson

Published May 22, 2025 at 12:15 PM CDT

ARTSWIN Executive Director Anne McKim speaks at the 2024 ARTSWIN event. 2025 marks forty-four years since the first Mayor’s Art Award was given to William Gumberts in 1981.

The recipients of each award will be announced on June 5th ahead of the awards ceremony in August

The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana (ARTSWIN) will have a selection committee choose winners from the pool of nominees for each category.

Individuals, groups, businesses, projects and institutions that have made significant contributions to the arts of Southwestern Indiana are eligible to be nominated.

A nomination form on the ARTSWIN website is available for anyone to fill out until 4 PM on May 30th.

There are six categories: The Mayor’s Art Award, The Visual Art Award, the Performing Art Award, the Young Artist Award, the Art Educator Award and the Art Project Award.

The Mayor’s Art Award is a “highly prestigious honor” presented to a current Vanderburgh county resident whose contributions to the arts have made an exceptional impact on the community.

This year marks forty-four years since the first Mayor’s Art Award was given to William Gumberts in 1981.

Two rows of original artwork created for the 2024 Art Award recipients. Each recipient will receive an original artwork by a regional artist created for the 2025 Awards, and will attend the Arts Awards Celebration at no cost.

More on the categories

Mayor’s Art Award

This highly prestigious honor is given to an individual whose contributions to the arts have had an exceptional impact on the community. Consideration is given to evidence of long-standing support of, and life-long interest in, the arts. The nominee must be a current resident of Vanderburgh County whose arts activities have had significant impact on the City of Evansville.

Visual Art Award

This award recognizes an exceptional candidate from the visual arts discipline. (Film and literary arts are included in this category.)

Performing Art Award

This award recognizes an exceptional candidate from the performing arts discipline.

Young Artist Award

This award recognizes a rising high school junior or senior in the 2025-2026 school year who displays exceptional aptitude in an artistic discipline.

Art Educator Award

This award recognizes an exceptional educator who directly influences and engages students of any age through the visual, literary, or performing arts.

Art Project Award

This award recognizes a project that utilized the arts to advance community, economic development, or quality of life goals or initiatives in the 2024 calendar year.

Nominators may submit nominations for an unlimited number of individuals, separate nominations are requested for each candidate.

2024 Arts Award recipients can be found here.