The Wichita/Sedgwick County Arts and Humanities Council established the Annual Arts Council Awards in 1969 to recognize and honor those businesses, foundations and individuals who have displayed consistent and exemplary support of the arts and humanities in Wichita/Sedgwick County. These awards focus attention on the importance of the arts as they relate to the quality of life in Wichita/Sedgwick County and honor those who have made major creative achievements or significant contributions to cultural growth or development.

Today’s Arts Council is proud to carry on this longstanding tradition and looking forward to celebrating the 2025 honorees on Saturday, November 8th at the 55th Annual Art Awards dinner, to be held at Wave.

DEADLINE
Nominations must be received online (or in the CityArts offices, 334 N. Mead) by by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 31, 2025. Nominations will not be accepted after the deadline.

CATEGORIES

• Gordon W. Evans Art Leadership – Given to a patron demonstrating outstanding leadership and special support for the arts.
   
• Arts Organization – Given to a public, not-for-profit organization that presents or provides arts opportunities to the Wichita community and region.
   
• Special Project – Given to an individual or group that has provided support for a single event or project.
   
• Arts Educator – Given to an individual who has devoted a career to teaching the arts in an educational environment.
   
• Arts Advocate – Given to an individual or group dedicated to furthering the cause of an art form or the arts in general through promotional, volunteer, administrative, legislative or professional efforts.
   
• Individual Artist – Given to an artist actively working in such categories as Choreography, Music Composition, Film/Video, Theatre, Interdisciplinary/ Performance Art, Two-Dimensional Visual Art and/or Three-Dimensional Visual Art, who has shown outstanding achievement.
   
• Youth Recognition Award – Given to a high school and/or middle school student who has shown outstanding achievement and development in the arts.
   
• Burton Pell Achievement in Music Award – Created in memory of Mr. Pell, a long time member and past president of the Arts Council, to recognize an outstanding individual in music.
   

ELIGIBILITY
Any individual, business, organization or institution currently residing in Wichita or the surrounding area who is involved in arts and cultural activities located in Greater Wichita at the time of nomination is eligible to be nominated.

INELIGIBILITY
Self-nominations, posthumous nominations and previous Arts Award winners are ineligible. Arts Council Board members or organizations with whom they are directly involved (and their families) are not eligible for nominations. If needed, the Arts Council will make decisions on any unusual circumstances that might occur after the nomination committee has met.

NOMINATIONS
Nominations are accepted from Kansas citizens and organizations seeking to recognize individual artists, art educators, advocates, organizations, individual patrons, and patron organizations. Nominations may be submitted with or without the knowledge of the nominee.

SELECTION
Award recipients will be chosen from among the nominees by the Arts Awards Selection Panel, which will include two members of the Arts Council and three arts professionals from greater Wichita. At the discretion of the panel, selections may include more than one award in a category. Conversely, the panel may decide not to give an award in every category if the total ranking does not merit an award.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The criteria the panel will use to rank and select awards will be:

• Significance, quality and magnitude of the creative achievement.
• Length of time and intensity of activity dedicated to the arts.
• Leadership that stimulates growth, support and/or availability of the arts
• Contributions to excellence in the arts.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE
For further assistance or information in preparing this form, please email  executivedirector@wichitaarts.com.