2025 NCECA INNOVATOR AWARD

With the continued generous support of the Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation, the process of identifying the 2025 NCECA Innovator Award recipient is getting underway. 

Ceramic art is durable and ever-evolving. In this spirit, NCECA looked to the early root meanings of the Latin word innovare… renewal, restoration, reformation, reinvention… when choosing Innovator to name this special award. One artist whose work expands the technical, conceptual, and/or aesthetic dimensions of the ceramic medium and its rich traditions will be honored this year with an unrestricted $10,000 award to further their artistic endeavors. 

The NCECA Innovator Award recognizes one artist annually for reimagining our collective understanding of ceramics as a medium and practice. The awardee’s unique and visionary approach to ceramic-based practice may steward cultural traditions and extend technical or creative methods to advance ceramics' potential to connect people, places, and ideas. The ideal recipient will be at a pivotal juncture in their career, making the award's monetary recognition critical to their continuing practice and research.

During this three-year pilot phase, NCECA will be forming a Nominator Pool, members of which will be invited to identify three to five individuals to be considered for this opportunity. A separate Ad Hoc Innovator Award Committee, chaired by NCECA President-Elect Steve Hilton, will include four individuals working in various aspects of the field who will review the recommendations of the Nominator Pool and make a recommendation to NCECA’s Board of Directors. The next recipient will be announced in Autumn 2025.

The NCECA Innovator Award
About The Nomation Process

Nomination Process
The NCECA Innovator Award is not open to a public or self-nomination process. Those artists interested in self-nominating and applying for other forms of support are invited to explore upcoming opportunities, including Emerging Artists, Helene Zucker Seeman Fellowships for Women, Multicultural Fellowships, Regina Brown Undergraduate Student Fellowships, NCECA Graduate Student Fellowships, the NCECA Environmental Sustainability Fellowship, and the Anne W. and Bill Bracker Youth Educator Seed Fellowship. These fellowship opportunities open in the summer of 2025 with a September 2025 deadline.

Selection Process
An ad hoc awards committee made up of four members will review the nominees and meet to assess their suitability for the award. As a result of this process, the ad hoc committee will recommend one of the candidates to the NCECA Board of Directors for the award. The review process will take place during the summer of 2025. NCECA will contact the selected award recipient in late summer or early autumn 2025.

2025 NCECA Innovator Award FAQs

  • Please review the Frequently Asked Questions for the 2025 NCECA Innovator Award prior to contacting NCECA.

  • NCECA has invited a pool of nominators from throughout the field to identify up to three candidates for consideration. Members of the nominator pool may not self-nominate; however, others may identify them as nominees. Members of the nominating pool are bound by confidentiality not to discuss their nominations with others, including the nominees.

    The NCECA Innovator Award is not open to a public or self-nomination process. Those artists interested in self-nominating and applying for other forms of support are invited to explore upcoming opportunities, including Emerging Artists, Helene Zucker Seeman Fellowships for Women, Multicultural Fellowships, Regina Brown Undergraduate Student Fellowships, NCECA Graduate Student Fellowships, the NCECA Environmental Sustainability Fellowship, and the Anne W. and Bill Bracker Youth Educator Seed Fellowship. These fellowship opportunities open in the summer of 2025 with a September 2025 deadline.

  • An ad hoc awards committee made up of four members will review the nominees and meet to assess their suitability for the award. As a result of this process, the ad hoc committee will recommend one of the candidates to the NCECA Board of Directors for the award. The review process will take place during the Summer of 2025. NCECA will contact the selected award recipient in late summer or early autumn 2025.

  • The 2025 NCECA Innovator Award is open to individuals 18 and over, not enrolled in a degree-granting educational program, working with clay as a principal medium of artistic expression. NCECA’s Board of Directors, employees, and immediate family members (i.e., spouses, siblings, and parents) are not eligible to receive the Award.

  • NCECA will announce the 2025 NCECA Innovator Award Recipient during the 2025 Cultivating Community Week, which will take place from November 17 to 21, 2025.

  • Award recipients reimagine our collective understanding of ceramics as a medium and practice. The awardee’s unique and visionary approach to ceramic-based practice may steward cultural traditions and extend technical or creative methods to advance the potential of ceramics to connect people, places, and ideas.

    The ideal recipient will be at a pivotal juncture in their career, making the financial aspect of the recognition pivotal to their continuing practice and research.

    The 2025 NCECA Innovator Award recipient should expect to participate in the creation of a brief video about their work that will be shared during Cultivating Community week in November 2025. If available, the recipient will also be invited to receive their award during NCECA’s 60th Annual Conference, Volumes in Detroit Michigan, March 25-28, 2026.

  • If you have any questions, please email awards@nceca.net