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 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, 2025.
The 2027 Awards Program nomination deadline will be Monday, November 2, 2026.
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.
Descriptions of NAEA Awards
The Elliot W. Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual for their lifetime professional achievement that has advanced art and art education.
Nominations should include individuals who have made notable contributions throughout their lifetimes to the field of visual arts education through their work as teachers, lecturers, and/or artists. The award is not restricted with respect to the level of work or the type of work that individuals may have undertaken throughout their professional lives. Examples include but are not limited to contributing to the knowledge and understanding of artistic growth and development, furthering the theory and practice of teaching and learning about art, promoting the role and essential value of art education for human development, and developing accountability systems for assessing student growth.
The Award
The Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award consists of three parts: (1) a cash award; (2) a reception or other event, during which the award winner shall give an acceptance lecture; and (3) presentation to the award winner of a commemorative item to mark the occasion. There are no required uses for the stipend; it is entirely the choice of the award winner as to how the prize is to be used. Any and all taxes on the award are the responsibility of the winner.
Eligibility, Nomination, and Selection
- Eligibility: Any individual whose career has resulted in sustained and significant contributions to the field of art and/or visual arts education through a lifetime of work. Only individuals are eligible rather than an organization, group, or institution. However, the Review Committee, at its discretion, may divide the award between two or more individuals if deemed appropriate to the work. There is no minimum age or years of service in the field to qualify for nomination. The award is open to NAEA members, as well as others who may not be professionally recognized as an art educator. No individual may receive the award more than once.
- Nomination: Nominations must include (1) a letter of nomination, (2) two letters of support, (3) a vita that highlights significant work, and (4) a recent photograph of the nominee. Letters should (5) describe the significance of the candidate’s contributions over the course of their career and (6) describe the quality of the contributions consistent with the purpose of the award. For the online vita form, please put “see attached resume” in each section.
- Selection: Selection is made by an Eisner Lifetime Award Selection Committee consisting of a chair and four members. (The NAEA Past President will chair an awards committee comprising at least one past recipient of the award when possible and three long-standing NAEA members appointed by the chair.) Members appointed to serve on the committee are carefully identified to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, and that broad representation of members and educational constituencies exists. The criteria considered by the committee will be the quality and influence of each candidate’s work over a lifetime.
Deadline
Nominations must be submitted no later than November 1.