AFTA Awards

Americans for the Arts nominations deadline: March 12

At the Americans for the Arts annual convention each year several awards are presented. The following may be applicable to the arts education field.

• The Arts Education Leadership Award
• The Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award
• The Robert E. Gard Awarrd

Information on these awards are located on the Awards webpages. Thanks to Jeff Poulin, Americans for the Arts Education Program Manager for summarizing the three awards below.

The Arts Education Leadership Award is given annually to honor transformational leadership in arts education. The award brings visibility and national recognition to our field’s highest caliber leaders and the organizations and communities they serve.

Presented each year in conjunction with Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, the Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award honors an individual at the state level whose arts advocacy efforts have dramatically affected the political landscape.

The Gard Award aims to raise up projects completed in the last year led by individuals or organizations working to cross the arts into other aspects of community life in meaningful, measurable ways. In previous years, after a public voting process, Americans for the Arts awarded the ArtsMemphis Community Engagement Fellowship, an innovative program connecting the arts and civic activation in Memphis, TN, and the Red Can Graffiti Jam, an annual celebration of traditional Lakota arts and culture melded with a hip hop festival and graffiti jam in Eagle Butte, SD.

The nominations are open for two more weeks (closing March 12, 2018 at midnight Eastern time).  Consider nominating someone.

• To submit a nomination for these awards, please visit the nomination form.

Please note: to nominate a person or project, you must be a member of Americans for the Arts – when you click the above link, if you see a notice that says, “You do not have permission to view this form,” please click the “Login” link toward the top right of the page, login, and revisit the link and the nomination form should appear. You do not have to be a member of Americans for the Arts to be nominated, only to nominate.