The Phoenix Awards honor and celebrate outstanding artistic achievement in the Lawrence community. The 2025 Phoenix Awards will mark the 25th anniversary of the Phoenix Awards!
Since the inception of the Phoenix Awards in 1996, more than 155 local artists, sculptors, photographers, dancers, musicians, vocalists, educators, writers and literary supporters, administrators, organizations, and volunteers have been recognized by their peers and fellow Lawrencians. (You can see the list of all the awardees and the artists who made each award by clicking on the black tab marked, "Past Phoenix Award Winners," below.)
There are 10 categories for five awards: Arts Advocate, Arts Administrator, Arts Education, Design Arts, Literary Arts, Musical Arts, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Volunteer in the Arts, and the Phoenix Award for Exceptional Artistic Achievement. There is also a "Creative Spaces" Award category which recognizes outstanding achievement in imaginative and environmentally forward-thinking place-making.
In 2024, the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission selected C. Bryan Young as the artist to create the 2025 Phoenix Awards.
Image of a handcrafted wooden box made by C. Bryan Young
Nominations will be accepted starting in June 2025 for the fall Phoenix Awards event. The 2025 Phoenix Awards will mark the 25th anniversary of the Phoenix Awards.
The 2023 awards by Toni Brou.
Photo of the six 2023 Phoenix Awards created by Toni Brou
Phoenix Award Design & Creation
The individual awards for the annual recognitions are commissioned by the Cultural Arts Commission and created by a local artist or artist team. While creativity and innovation are encouraged, the awards must also be practically suitable for display and very well constructed to be able to survive handling and long-term display. Past awards are on view at the Carnegie Building conference room.
The 2024 Artist Call/RFQ for the 2025 Phoenix Awards is here.
For more information, contact Porter Arneill at parneill@lawrenceks.org.
The application closed at 11:59 p.m. July 22, 2024.