The Cleveland Arts Prize (CAP) was founded in 1960 to recognize artists in all disciplines who have contributed to the arts in northeast Ohio: emerging, mid-career and lifetime. Recently it added another award: the VERGE Fellowship, which award a stipend to “developing artists,” theoretically at an earlier career stage than an emerging artist.
In recent years, artists have been able to submit their own applications for the discipline prizes, honoring exceptional talent in design, literature, music, theater, dance and visual arts. Others can nominate arts supporters for the special prizes such as the Robert P. Bergman and the Martha Joseph Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Applications open March 1 with a deadline of April 26 for the discipline prizes and June 1 for the special prize nominations. Winners are announced in August. For more information, eligibility and criteria, and to submit, go to www.clevelandartsprize.org.
In addition, since 2018, CAP has awarded the VERGE Fellowship, a small stipend given to artists who are theoretically at an early stage of their career, pre-“emerging.” CAP recently announced this year’s class of VERGE Fellowship winners, largely artists whose work is already widely known in the area. The group includes musician/composer/producer Robin “Hyperius”Blake, visual artists Aja Joi Grant and Crystal Miller, poet/spoken work artist Zuggie Tate and photographer Emanuel Wallace.
Get more information at clevelandartsprize.org/verge/.