“The Sonoma County Artist Awards program is focused on Sonoma County artists who are seriously committed to their art form and who have demonstrated a history of professional activity,” comments Arts Council Board President Michael Friedenberg. “Above all, the program is designed to encourage the continuing development of Sonoma County’s finest creative artists and to reward, recognize and reinforce creative excellence.”

In addition to helping local artists, this program is committed to engaging the philanthropic community in supporting Sonoma County artists, facilitating dialogue and collaboration in the local arts community and promoting Sonoma County art.

The Award is rooted in the truth that art comes from artists. It supports artists in their careers and raises the awareness of the value of artists in our community. The expanded award program grew out of a newly-established relationship with United States Artists (USA), a nonprofit organization with a mission to support the work of the nation’s finest artists. USA was launched in 2005 with generous support from the Ford, Rockefeller, Prudential and Rasmuson Foundations and, since their inaugural year of 2006, has awarded one hundred $50,000 fellowships to artists working across the country in virtually every artistic field.

The founding of the Los Angeles-based USA was prompted by the Urban Institute’s breakthrough study, Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structures for U.S. Artists. That research found that while 96% of Americans appreciate the arts, only 27% believe that artists contribute to the good of society. In addition, the study discovered that the median reported income for artists from their artistic work was only $5,000 and that more than half of America’s two million artists pay for their own health insurance. Despite those economic challenges, artists contribute directly to advancements in the education of young people, the development of a competitive creative economy and the revitalization of the nation’s neighborhoods and urban centers.

“This is a wonderful initiative that supports artists at a community level, where the impact of their work and ideas is immediate,” notes Amada Cruz, USA’s Program Director. “United States Artists is a national program, but early support for many of the USA Fellows has often come from non-profits such as the Arts Council of Sonoma County. We enthusiastically support such local efforts to illuminate the significance of artists in our neighborhoods, schools and daily lives.”

The Sonoma County Artist Awards program recognizes three artists every year: emerging visual artists in one year and artists in the performing, music and literary arts the next. The artists are nominated by professionals in the arts, arts organizations, academia, etc. The Award recipients are then selected by a panel of experts in the field. Nominated artists are expected to represent a wide range of the county’s artistic talent, with work reflecting a broad cultural and stylistic variety. Nominees are limited to working artists who reside in Sonoma County.

The awards are produced by the Arts Council of Sonoma County and funded by Community Foundation Sonoma County.

The Arts Council of Sonoma County, founded in 1983 in partnership with the California Arts Council and the County of Sonoma, is a federally designated non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting visual, performing, literary arts and arts education within Sonoma County. The Arts Council has been navigating the transition from being an “arts producer” to being an “arts service organization” over the past four years. ACSC is the lead organization in establishing dialogue between arts organizations, advocating for the arts and arts education in our county and serving as the primary arts and culture marketing and information clearinghouse. In effect, it is the countywide marketing arm for the arts.