The Cleveland Arts Prize acknowledges, honors, and celebrates creative excellence among us through the awarding of prizes to persons who are the creators of original works of art, rather than to persons who are performers or interpreters of other artists’ work. Arts Prizes are awarded in the fields of architecture, dance, literature, music, and the visual arts for work that has, through its consistent high quality, brought distinction to its creator and to the Greater Cleveland area, as well as to the organizations, if any, with which the artist has been associated. Prize winners are individuals who have made Greater Cleveland their artistic home, although they need not be natives or current residents of the area. However, preference is given to actively contributing members of the Greater Cleveland arts community. The Cleveland Arts Prize Committee generally defines the Greater Cleveland area as Cuyahoga County and the counties contiguous to it (Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit counties). Cleveland Arts Prize juries generally find corroboration of creative excellence in the fact that the work under consideration has received national recognition as well as local and regional attention. In addition to these general criteria, the Cleveland Arts Prize juries rely on criteria specific to the character of their disciplines. These are enumerated here. In seeking nominations from the public, the Cleveland Arts Prize Committee desires to expand its base of knowledge of meritorious artists and arts patrons. Nominations that are accompanied by a nominee’s resumé and representations of his/her work are thus very helpful to the Arts Prize juries. However, we ask that you provide these backup materials ONLY if it is possible to secure them without divulging their purpose to the nominee. As Greater Cleveland is blessed with many more creative individuals than we can honor each year, we wish to maintain the confidentiality of our decision-making process.

1. The prize shall be awarded to a composer whose work over a period of years has been distinctive, individual and of consistently high quality.

2. While a specific work of recent vintage will be given due consideration, the prize shall be awarded for a body of work marking continuing or cumulative achievement.

3. The prize shall be awarded for a body of work that has been performed nationally as well as locally and regionally, some or all of it published, recorded and-optimally-reviewed in the media and/or recognized previously by prizes, awards or other distinctions.

4. The composer will ideally be a resident of Greater Cleveland. Candidates who are clearly associated with Greater Cleveland through birth or long residency or extensive early education in area schools, universities or conservatories, or who have close and continuing affiliations with the area, as evidenced by frequent local performances of his/her works, commissions from local individuals or organizations, or biographical identification with this area in printed material, may also be considered.

5. In any year, the Music Jury may recommend that NO prize be awarded.

6. A nomination will, if possible, be accompanied by the nominee’s résumé‚ and cassettes, CDs or sheet music of the nominee’s work with each composition identified as to title, date of creation and date and place of first performance. In addition, copies of reviews, feature articles and any other documentation that supports the nomination will be helpful to the jury. Because nominations are considered confidential, please make every effort to secure these materials without the knowledge of the nominee.

7. Background materials, which will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope, should be sent under separate cover to: Cleveland Arts Prize, P.O. Box 21126, South Euclid, Ohio 44121-0126.

The Cleveland Arts Prize Nominations

Architecture

Dance

Literature

Music

Visual Arts

Special Citation for Distinguished Service to the Arts

The Robert P. Bergman Prize

Music Criteria > Nominations