Awards Program
Each year the NAEA Awards Program offers the opportunity to nominate outstanding art educators in all Divisions and Regions, and from each state and province for national recognition.
Nominations for the 2026 NAEA Awards Program closed on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
Nominations for the 2027 NAEA Awards Program nominations will open in summer 2026.
Awards Program Details
- To recognize excellence in the many outstanding individuals, state/province associations, and programs of NAEA.
- To focus professional attention on quality art education and exemplary art educators.
- To increase public awareness of the importance of quality art education.
- To set standards for quality art education and show how they can be achieved.
- To provide tangible recognition of achievement, earn respect of colleagues, and enhance professional opportunities for NAEA members.
Who can nominate?
Individual Members, State/Province Associations, and NAEA Interest Groups can nominate for NAEA Awards.
How to nominate:
The 2027 awards program nomination link will be available here in summer 2026.
NAEA utilizes a submission platform called “Submittable” to collect and review nominations. In order to submit a nomination, you will first need to create a free account with Submittable.
Please note, your Submittable account is in no way connected to your NAEA member account. You need to create a separate login to access Submittable. If you have already created/utilized Submittable for an NAEA nomination or application in 2025, you do NOT need to create a new account.
NAEA members who meet the established criteria are eligible for nomination. Download the Awards Program Booklet for complete eligibility details about each award.
NAEA membership is not required for the Distinguished Service Outside the Profession award, the COMC J. Eugene Grigsby award, or the Eisner Lifetime Achievement award. See complete eligibility details in the Awards Program Booklet.
Nominations and supporting documentation are submitted online only. NAEA uses a submission platform called “Submittable” to collect and review nominations. In order to submit a nomination, you will first need to create a free account with Submittable. Please note, your Submittable account is in no way connected to your NAEA member account. You need to create a separate login to access Submittable. If you have already created/utilized Submittable for an NAEA nomination or application in past years, you do not need to create a new account.
State/province award committees select their own state/province award recipient and submit the name to the NAEA using the official State/Province Art Educator form. Contact your state/province association for guidelines.
The 2026 NAEA Awards Program nominations closed on Saturday, November 1.
This timeline allows the selection committees sufficient time to review documentation, verify membership, make final decisions, and submit the names of winning recipients to NAEA.
Awards are presented at the NAEA National Convention.
Before the annual NAEA National Convention, each awardee will receive a press release via email to share with employers, local media, art departments, school administrators, and family.