The 2024 Neddy Artist Award application is officially OPEN! Now  through Jan. 7, 2024!

Apply Now!

The Neddy Artist Award program offers one of the largest unrestricted awards for artists in the Pacific Northwest,  annually providing two gifts of $25,000, and six of $2,000, to visual artists based in the Puget Sound region.

Learn more below! Find complete award eligibility criteria and information at our website, or reach out to [email protected]  with any questions.

Are you eligible to apply?
 
Ned Behnke embodied Cornish College of the Art’s mission of developing artists as citizens—individuals who aim for artistic excellence and an applied consciousness of responsibility to society. As the awards honor Ned’s legacy, Neddy recipients will reflect and embody his belief in the power of art and artists to be positive forces in our world.

The criteria for the Neddy award is:

 - Artistic excellence and demonstrated commitment to and development of work over time.

 - Demonstrated engagement, broadly understood, with the world through art.

Artists may apply to the Neddy Artist Awards program if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

 - Artists must be full-time residents of Washington State, residing in the greater Puget Sound region. Eligible counties include Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, San Juan, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom. Must also be a permanent resident of the United States.

 - Artists must be 18 years of age or older at the time of application.

 - Applicants must be practicing artists who demonstrate a pattern of producing work.

 - Artists must NOT be previous grand-prize recipients of the award.

 - Previous finalists are eligible AFTER A ONE-YEAR HIATUS.

 - Artists must NOT be full-time core faculty or a trustee at Cornish College of the Arts.

 - Students currently enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate degree programs at the time of application are NOT eligible.

   - Those who have completed all degree requirements at the time of application, but have yet to matriculate may be eligible pending verification.

 - Artists must be available on the dates of National Juror visit (April 2-7, 2024) and Curator's Interview/Video dates (TBD, February 2024), otherwise the award goes to an alternate. These dates will be provided at the time the finalists are contacted to ascertain their availability. As much as possible we try to accommodate finalists’ schedules with these engagements.

About the Application

The Neddy Artist Award Application is FREE through our application on Submittable. You will be asked to provide the following:

 - Apply in either the Painting or Open Medium category.

 - 12 to 15 samples of your work.

    - Max 15 image uploads, 6 audio uploads, and/or 6 video uploads -- but no less than 12, and no more than 15 uploads total.

 - A resume or CV.

 - A short biography of about 150 to 200 words.

 - Two short answer questions.

Applications sent by mail, submitted in person, or arriving late or incomplete will not be considered. Incomplete applications or applications with unmet requirements will not be considered. You will be contacted if your application needs revisions.

The Neddy Artist Award program is stewarded by Cornish College of the Arts and funded by The Behnke Foundation. The Behnke Foundation Chair, Carl Behnke, his wife Renee Behnke, and their family, are pictured below at the opening of the Neddy's 25th Anniversary Exhibition on June 3, 2022 at the Museum of History & Industry. Photo by Winifred Westergard.