The 2026 Regional Art Award Finalists – and one winner -- have been announced. WNIN’s John Gibson has details:
The annual Mayor’s Art Award will be presented to Scott Wylie during the awards ceremony November 13th at EVPL Central.
Officials say Wylie will be recognized for his “far-reaching contributions to the arts in our community.”
Wylie currently serves as Secretary for the Indiana Arts Commission.
Winners in six more categories will be chosen from among finalists, including:
For the Art Educator Award: Bob-Bea Graves, visual art teacher at Fairlawn Elementary School, Leanne Hampton, UE/EPO Music Consortium Faculty, and Katelyn Kaiser, artistic director at Bosse High School.
Finalists for the Art Project Award are the Soul Writer's Guild, Darin Harger of Fuchsia Collective, and the Evansville Philharmonic's New Traditions Series.
And for the Culinary Art Award: Maria Marton of Urban Seeds and Vegan Eats & Treats.
Finalists for the Literary Art Award Mary Jo Huff, James MacLeod, and Linda Reising.
The Visual Art Award finalists are Cole Cartwright, Drew Cooper, and Amy Elsner.
And finalists for the Performing Art Award are the Evansville Shakespeare Players, Sydney Judd, and the Children's Theatre of Southern Indiana.
