Call for nominations for arts leadership in Arkansas

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARD
Eligible nominees’ work will have served communities in Arkansas; though impact may extend beyond the Mid-America Arts Alliance region to national or international communities.

• We strongly encourage the nomination of arts leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color, LGBTQ, Disabled Persons, Persons whose primary language is not English, and/or are from rural or remote communities.
• Nominations are encouraged for active arts leaders residing in Arkansas from all career stages (early-, mid-, and late-career) and from all areas or disciplines in the arts industry.
• Eligible nominees must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• Mid-America Arts Alliance recognizes the value of partnership and collaboration in leadership and welcomes the nomination of shared leadership/co-leaders. Please note that nominations of co-leaders must be completed as a single nomination submission.

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARD

• Current Mid-America Arts Alliance board members and staff members, and their families, are not eligible for the award and are not permitted to submit nomination materials.
• Elected officials and political appointees are not eligible for the award.
• Self-nominations are not eligible for consideration.

Nomination review will be based on nominees’ demonstrated impact through their:

• Deep community engagement
• Equitable outcomes
• (optional) Public-private partnerships and international cultural exchange
• Other notable accomplishments

Mid-America Arts Alliance administers the nomination, review, selection, and notification process for the award.

• Nomination Form Available Online: Monday, July 10, 2023
• Nomination Deadline: Friday, September 1, 2023, 5:00 p.m. Central Time
• Recipient Notification: on or before October 2, 2023.
• Recipient Recognition: TBD during the M-AAA Board Meeting in Tulsa, OK, November 1–3, 2023

Nominations will be reviewed by Mid-America Arts Alliance and a diverse panel of experienced arts professionals. Mid-America Arts Alliance staff reserves the right to request additional information from nominees during the review process.

Mid-America Arts Alliance staff will notify the award recipient on or before October 2, 2023. Provided the recipient’s acceptance, staff will confirm their status as the 2023 awardee. The recipient of the 2023 Don Munro Leadership in the Arts Award will be recognized during the M-AAA Board Meeting in Tulsa, OK, scheduled for November 1–3, 2023. Recipient is not required, but would be welcome to attend. Additionally, the award recipient will receive a $10,000 unrestricted non-matching award.

Mid-America Arts Alliance reserves the right to withhold presentation of the award. ​​Given the expedited timeline and unique nature of this program, M-AAA will not provide review comments for any nominations.

In order to complete a nomination please provide:

• Nominee’s bio (required)
• Nomination statement (required)
• Letter of support (optional)

Complete the Nomination Form

Nominations will be evaluated based on consideration of the submitted nomination materials. Materials may be submitted as written, audio, or video formats. Please note that nominations of co-leaders must be completed as a single nomination submission and that materials should discuss the nominees’ work and histories that are relevant to the collaborative leadership for which they are nominated.

1) Bio (written, up to 500 words)
Submit a copy of the nominee’s current bio. A nominee’s résumé will also be accepted if a bio is not available. For nominations of co-leaders, submit a bio for each leader.

2) Nomination Statement (written, up to 2,000 words; submit a link to an audio/video clip (Google Drive, YouTube, Vimeo), maximum five minutes in length)
Through your responses to the prompts below, please share what sets the nominee and their work apart.

• What are the nominee’s most notable accomplishments as a visionary leader? Describe the nominee’s vision to realize a better future for the arts and for their community, and how they have achieved that vision. If applicable, discuss the innovations, new models of practice, and/or risks involved.
• How has the nominee demonstrated commitment to their community through deep engagement?
• Discuss how the nominee has created opportunities and equitable outcomes in service to communities and populations that face historic and systemic barriers to full participation in society and the arts.
• Is there anything else you would like to share that demonstrates how the nominee has made a difference?
• If applicable, describe the nominee’s work in the areas of public-private partnerships in the arts and international cultural exchange.

For nominations of co-leaders: Respond to each of the above prompts as they relate to the collaborative leadership of the nominees – in other words, the responses should only discuss the nominees’ work and histories that are relevant to the collaborative leadership for which they are nominated.

3) Optional Letter of Support (written, up to one page; submit a link to an audio/video clip (Google Drive, YouTube, Vimeo), maximum five minutes in length)
Nominators may provide one letter of support offering testimony to the nominee’s impact. It is strongly encouraged that a letter of support come from the perspective of someone who has been impacted by the nominee’s work, such as from a community member, and that they talk about how the nominee’s work made a difference for them or their community (for example, see Nomination Materials: 2.) Nomination Statement above).

Optional Nominator Demographic Data Survey
As part of our broader goals to promote equity in the field, Mid-America Arts Alliance seeks program participants that reflect the diversity of the Mid-America region. To measure our effectiveness to reach arts leaders from across the region and across all backgrounds, all nominators are invited to participate in a brief anonymous survey. This information will help us address inequities in the award process, understand who we are reaching, and understand how we can serve all communities in the region more effectively. Please know that participation in this anonymous survey is optional and survey responses will not be associated with nominations.

In this survey, nominators will be invited to self-identify age, professional level, gender, LGBTQIA2S+ identity, racial and ethnic heritage, disability status, and to share how the nominee/nominator learned about the award opportunity. Survey responses are anonymous, will not be shared with the panel, and will only be used by Mid-America Arts Alliance staff for program evaluation.

Contact Christine Bial, Director of Arts and Humanities Grant Programs at christine@maaa.org or 816-421-1388, ext #227 with any questions.