Discipline Prizes Prizes in the Disciplines awarded in: Literature, Visual Arts, Music & Dance, Design

Emerging Artist Award $5,000
Awarded to an artist living in Northeast Ohio who shows remarkable promise and has created a significant work or project.

Mid-Career Artists Award Four $5,000 Awards. One in each discipline.
Awarded to mid-career artists who have received national recognition in addition to regional and local acclaim and have resided in Northeast Ohio.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Awarded to an artist who has worked in Northeast Ohio over several decades and whose career and achievements have brought great distinction to himself and the region.

Special PrizeS

Robert P. Bergman Prize
The Cleveland Arts Prize Committee created the Robert P. Bergman Prize to acknowledge and applaud those rare leaders whose life and work are illuminated by an energetic and inspiring dedication to a democratic vision of the arts. Thus, the Bergman Prize is given, from time to time, to an individual whose life and activities communicate the joys, excitement and deep human relevance of the arts to broad segments of the Northeast Ohio community. The Bergman Prize recognizes the highest possible expression of arts stewardship, in such achievements as:

• Using innovative means, personal suasion and example to break down real or perceived barriers to appreciation of the arts
• Effectively communicating the relevance of the arts to the daily lives of people
• Forging new, meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships between artists, arts organizations and community members and groups
• Transforming people’s experience of the arts from unfamiliarity and absence of interest to knowledgeability and delight.

Because of the exceptional nature of such achievements, the Robert P. Bergman Prize will be awarded only from time to time, at the discretion of the Cleveland Arts Prize Committee, for truly outstanding merit.

Martha Joseph Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts
This prize will be awarded annually to an individual or an organization that because of exceptional commitment, vision, leadership or philanthropy has made a significant contribution to the vitality and stature of the arts in Northeast Ohio. This contribution may be made through the conception and implementation of innovative arts events and programs; through the demonstration of visionary and/or strategic arts leadership; through extraordinary acts of arts patronage or arts advocacy; through dedicated and inspiring teaching; through the sensitive and effective nurturing of artistic talent; or through superb performance and/or mastery in an arts discipline.

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Cleveland Arts Prize Scholarship Programs