North Carolina’s highest honor for traditional artists is the N.C. Heritage Award. The N.C. Arts Council is accepting nominations for that accolade through Friday, May 1.
Press release from the N.C. Arts Council:
Nominations are underway for the North Carolina Heritage Award, the state’s highest honor for traditional artists until Friday, May 1.
Artists who help tell North Carolina’s unique story through the traditional arts of their communities, such as craft, music and storytelling can be nominated for the award.
The North Carolina Heritage Award, a program of the N.C. Arts Council, honors active traditional artists; recognizes artistic excellence in a traditional art; celebrates contributions to communities; and promotes North Carolina’s cultural heritage.
Musician William “Bill” Myers, a 2014
N.C. Heritage Award winner.
Heritage Award recipients include masters of traditions such as string band, gospel, balladry and blues music; master storytellers; and experts in craft traditions that include pottery, basketry, blacksmithing, weaving, boatbuilding and carving, among others.The recipients for 2014 included bluegrass fiddler Bobby Hicks from Madison County; Jazz and R&B musician William “Bill” Myers, Wilson County; Pottery Sid Luck, Moore County; Weaver Susan Morgan Leveille, Jackson County; and Haliwa-Saponi artist Arnold Richardson, Halifax County.
The North Carolina Heritage Award has honored 125 artists since 1989. Many Heritage Award recipients have also gained national and international attention. Arthel “Doc” Watson, Earl
Scruggs, Etta Baker, Ray Hicks and twelve others have received National Heritage Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.Criteria for selection include authenticity, current and past record of excellence and significance of the nominees within the context of their particular cultural tradition.
Recipients of the award will receive a cash award and special recognition in an awards ceremony held in Raleigh the spring of 2016.
If you would like to nominate a traditional artist in your community, please review the nomination packet or visit www.NCArts.org.
Watch videos of 2014 recipients here.
You can read profiles of previous Heritage Award recipients here.
About the North Carolina Arts Council
The North Carolina Arts Council works to make North Carolina The Creative State where a robust arts industry produces a creative economy, vibrant communities, children prepared for the 21st century and lives filled with discovery and learning. The Arts Council accomplishes this in partnership with artists and arts organizations, other organizations that use the arts to make their communities stronger and North Carolinians-young and old-who enjoy and participate in the arts. For more information visit www.ncarts.org.About the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan W. Kluttz, NCDCR’s mission is improve our state’s quality of life by creating opportunities that promote economic development, stimulate learning, preserve the state’s history and spark creativity to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state’s communities. NCDCR’s Divisions of State Archives, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR’s State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for people who are blind and have physical disabilities.
NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state’s creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.
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