The Maine Crafts Association is the recipient of a charitable gift from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation in support of the Maine Craft Artist Awards.

This grant builds upon the 14-year legacy of the award by offering new benefits to future recipients and will be reopening the 2023 nomination period.

In 2009, the association began to honor individual craft artists by bestowing recognition of an exceptional body of work or dedicated career of service to the field of craft in Maine. The award confers the prestige and acknowledgment that comes with having the artist’s work achieve a distinguishing mark of excellence, according to a news release from Simonne Feeney with the Gardiner-based association.

Two recipients this year will be selected by a jury guided by the following benchmarks: Excellence in craftsmanship, inspired design, a singular voice or style, and a career of service to the field. Because of funding from the foundation, each awardee will receive a $4,000 honorarium in addition to historical benefits and endorsements of the Maine Craft Artist Awards:

• Lifetime Maine Crafts Association professional membership;
• Recognition at the annual award presentation and ceremony;
• Custom-made award pin;
• Award Certificate;
• Special press release and website features;
• Solo exhibition at a Shop Maine craft retail gallery;
• Invitation to teach at MCA Weekend Workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts;
• Invitation to exhibit at any scheduled guild fine craft Show; and
• Inclusion in decennial and vicennial anniversary exhibitions.

The association aims to recognize a diversity of voices, backgrounds, cultural heritage, as well as exemplary contributions to the craft community and the field of materials-based practice. To nominate a craft artist or make a self-nomination, visit mainecrafts.org and fill out the online form. All artists nominated since 2018 will automatically be considered for the 2023 award.

The nomination deadline is Monday, Oct. 2.

If the nominee does not have a good representation of their work or bio/resume online, follow up the nomination submission with an email Feeney at simonne@mainecrafts.org.

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