Sometimes--once in a blue moon, when the stars and planets align, when the gods are smiling down on you, sometimes--when you look back over the past twelve months, you realize happily, contentedly, sometimes surprisingly, that you have had a really good year.
Sometimes it's not you, but maybe an artist that you know/love/admire.
Jasper wants to help you celebrate this magnificent accomplishment--this milestone--this raining down of good fortune/reward/award/credit due--by shining the spotlight on you and yours for all the world to see.
If you are--or if you know/love/admire--an artist who can look back over the time period between September 15, 2012 and September 14, 2013 and reflect happily on the way those twelve months have turned out, then please consider nominating yourself or the object of your admiration/affection for the title Jasper 2013 Artist of the Year in Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Theatre, or Visual Arts.
Artists, 18 and older, working in the greater Columbia arts community are eligible for the title based upon their artistic accomplishments during the period from September 2012 until September 2013.*
Nominations should be sent to editor@JasperColumbia.com with the subject heading “Artist of the Year” and should be accompanied by
1) a single paragraph explaining why the nominee should be considered — this is the place where you wax poetic & sing the praises of your nominee in terms that will touch our hearts
2) a brief, but comprehensive list of work produced, performed , published, or presented during the September 15th, 2012 – September 14th, 2013 time period — this is the place where you get serious. You know all that stuff you said in the paragraph above? We don’t need to hear it again. What we need to hear are the specific enumerated accomplishments your nominee has made over the past 12 months and the dates of accomplishment. (Note: it broke our hearts last year when we weren’t able to include highly deserving candidates whose nominators failed to list their nominees’ many accomplishments. For our sake, please follow the instructions.)
3) a sentence stating that you have consulted your candidate and she or he has agreed to participate in the competition.
Nominations must be received online by midnight September 14, 2013.
Results will be announced in the November issue of Jasper Magazine.
Upon closing of the nomination call, a panel of judges will select the top three candidates in each field and, from these three finalists, the public will be invited to vote online for each of their top choices at the Jasper website.
- There is no fee to enter.
- Artists may nominate themselves.
- Artists should be made aware of their nomination and agree to participate in the competition.
The category Dance includes: performance, choreography, or direction of any form of dance including, but not limited to ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, ballroom, Latin, or folk.
The category Theatre includes: directing or acting in one or more local performances.
The category Music includes: conducting, directing, writing, or performing any style of music in one or more local concerts or recordings; both individuals and groups are eligible.
The category Visual Arts includes: the completion and presentation of any form of non-performing or non-literary arts, such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, print-making, mixed-media, and (new this year) set design, etc.
The category Literary Arts includes: the completion, publication, and/or presentation of any form of prose, poetry, or non-fiction writing, as well as playwriting and the writing of executed screenplays.
*Jasper 2013 Artist of the Year Awards will not be awarded based on achievements accomplished prior to September 15th, 2012. The purpose of the awards is to recognize artistic achievements accomplished within a calendar year, not over a lifetime.
Congratulations to our outgoing
Jasper 2012 Artists of the Year
on a year well-served!
Regina Willoughby – Dance
Kwame Dawes – Literary Arts
Morihiko Nakahara – Music
Chad Henderson – Theatre
Susan Lenz – Visual Arts
Fine Print
- Previous winners of Jasper Artists of the Year are not eligible for nomination for a three year period following the year in which they won.
- Previous nominees who did not win are eligible to be nominated in subsequent years.
- Artists must have resided in Columbia, SC during the September 2012 – 2013 time period. Artists who are from Columbia, but no longer live here, are no longer eligible for Jasper Artists of the Year Awards.
- Works in progress will not be considered.
- Employees of Jasper Magazine and clients of Muddy Ford Press are not eligible for competition.