Nominations due for 2013 Distinguished Artist

The McKnight Foundation invites nominations for its 16th Distinguished Artist Award, in recognition of individual artists with enduring and exceptional careers. Nominations for the $50,000 award must be received by March 31, 2013.

The award honors one artist each year for having made a substantial impact on the arts in Minnesota over a lifetime. A panel representing a variety of artistic disciplines considers first and foremost the quality of nominated artists’ work. Other considerations include the artist’s commitment to his or her field, and ways the artist has enriched life for audiences and the community.

The panel formally recommends one candidate to McKnight’s board of directors. Artists in all disciplines are eligible for nomination but may not apply for the award themselves. Although nominees must have worked in Minnesota much of their lives, they need not reside in Minnesota when they are nominated. The panel will not consider those from Minnesota who achieved most of their success elsewhere. No posthumous awards will be made. The recipient will be announced
mid-year.

Ifyou know of an artist that meets these criteria, we invite you to send yournomination via email to Kristen Marx, arts program administrator, at kmarx@mcknight.org. All submitted nominations are retained. Candidates who have not received the award will be considered again among nominees in subsequent years. It is not necessary to send another letter about someone who has been nominated, although career updates are encouraged.

For more information about the award, click here or call the Foundation at 612‑333‑4220.

Previous awardees:

• 2012: John Caddy,poet
• 2011: Ranee Ramaswamy, dance artist
• 2010: Siah Armajani, sculptor
• 2009: Bain Boehlke, theater artist
• 2008: Bill Holm,writer
• 2007: Kinji Akagawa, sculptor
• 2006: Lou Bellamy, theater artist
• 2005: Judy Onofrio, sculptor
• 2004: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, conductor and composer
• 2003: Mike Lynch, visual artist
• 2002: Emilie Buchwald, writer, editor, and publisher
• 2001: Dale Warland, choral music conductor and composer
• 2000: Robert Bly, poet, translator, writer, and editor
• 1999: Warren MacKenzie, potter
• 1998: Dominick Argento, composer

The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, collaboration,and encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Foundation had assets of approximately $1.9 billion and granted about $91 million in 2011.