2024 NCECA INNOVATOR AWARD
New Award Announcement!

NCECA is excited to share that with the generous support of a new funder, a new award will be initiated on a three-year pilot basis beginning in 2024.

The NCECA Innovator Award will provide a $10,000 unrestricted prize and recognize one artist in each of the next three years 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 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 critical to their continuing practice and research.

During the initial phase of the pilot period, with the support of NCECA’s board of directors, President Shoji Satake will be forming a Nominator Pool, members of which will be able to identify three to five individuals to be considered for this opportunity. A separate Ad Hoc Innovator Award Committee will consist of seven 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 first recipient will be announced in Autumn 2024.

The NCECA Innovator Award
About The Nomation Process

Nomination Process
The NCECA Innovator Award is not currently 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 2024 with a September 19, 2024 deadline.

Selection Process
An ad hoc awards committee made up of seven 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 2024. NCECA will contact the selected award recipient in late summer or early autumn 2024.

2024 NCECA Innovator Award FAQs

  • Please review the Frequently Asked Questions for the 2024 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 currently 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 2024 with a September 19, 2024 deadline.

  • An ad hoc awards committee made up of seven 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 2024. NCECA will contact the selected award recipient in late summer or early autumn 2024.

  • The 2024 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 2024 NCECA Innovator Award Recipient during the 2024 Cultivating Community Week, which will take place from September 22 to 29, 2024.

  • 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 2024 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 September 2024. If available, the awardee will also be invited to receive their award during NCECA’s 59th Annual Conference, Formation, in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 26-29, 2025.

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