2023 NH Governor’s Arts Awards to be celebrated live statewide Oct. 23

Celebrating the best of the arts in New Hampshire will occur at watch parties across the state when the 2023 Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony takes place Oct. 23, starting at 5 p.m., the N.H. State Council on the Arts announced today.

Watch parties are being planned for Littleton, Keene and Nashua. Details, including how to RSVP, are available at the Governor’s Arts Awards page on the Arts Council’s website.

The awards ceremony will also be livestreamed from the Arts Council’s Facebook and YouTube accounts.

In addition to the award presentations, the 2023 Governor’s Arts Awards will include video profiles of each winner and live music by the Jordan TW Trio.

Established in 2003, the N.H. Governor’s Arts Awards bring attention the excellence, growth and availability of the arts in New Hampshire by publicly recognizing outstanding contributions to the state’s arts and cultural life that are made by individuals, organizations and communities. 

This year’s winners are:

-    Arts Education: Racial Unity Team, Stratham
-    Arts in Health: Currier Museum of Art, Manchester
-    Creative Communities: Creative Guts, Epping
-    Distinguished Arts Leadership: John Weidman, Brookline
-    Folk Heritage: Fiddling Thomsons, Lee
-    Individual Arts Champion: the Labrie Family, Portsmouth
-    Lotte Jacobi Living Treasure: Greg Gathers, Portsmouth

Awardees receive a sculpture designed and created by André Belanger of Berlin that echoes the N.H. State House Eagle, widely considered the first piece of public art in the state.

To be eligible for nomination, individuals must reside in New Hampshire or have made significant contributions to the arts while living in New Hampshire. Nominated organizations, cities and towns must be physically located in New Hampshire.

The N.H. Governor’s Arts Awards are supported entirely through private funding. In 2023, they are presented by Christopher James Ward; sponsors include Comcast, the Duprey Companies, Christine Dwyer, Eversource, New England College, Northeast Delta Dental, Peter Paul Wines, Sanborn Mills Farm, Catherine Sununu and Waterstone Properties.

Learn more about the 2023 Governor’s Arts Awards and see a list of previous awardees at nh.gov/nharts/artsandartists/gaa/index.htm. 

The N.H. State Council on the Arts is a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The State Arts Council provides a wide variety of services, competitive grants, and technical assistance to not-for-profit organizations, schools, health care facilities, and individual artists, helping to ensure that the arts thrive in New Hampshire and are accessible to all. Funding for grants and services is provided by the New Hampshire Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Learn more at nh.gov/nharts.

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