2025 ND Governor's Awards for the Arts Recipients
Photo above, left to right: BSC Theatre Director Daniel Walstad, Assoc. Prof. Dean Bellin, Prof. Emer. Dan Rogers; Ijjo John Stephen; Arts for Vets’ Board Member Sonia Brumskill & Board Pres. Catherine Peterson; Marie Snavely; Dr. Tami Jollie-Trottier; Minot Symphony Orchestra (MSO) past ED Paulette Dailey; Governor & First Lady Armstrong; MSO past ED Lou Whitmer & current ED Ellen Fenner; D. Joyce Kitson. Photo by Poppy Mills (DOT)
The North Dakota Governor’s Awards for the Arts is a biennial program presented by the Governor’s Office and North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) to recognize organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts in the state.
**NDCA is NOW accepting nominations for the 2027 ND Governor's Awards for the Arts through November 22, 2026.
The public is invited to nominate North Dakota artists and arts-related organizations for their good work in the field. A committee will review the nominations and then final candidates will be submitted to the Governor for selection of the award winners. A special reception and award ceremony will be held during "Arts Day" at the North Dakota State Capitol on Thursday, February 11, 2027.
Submit a 2027 Governor's Award for the Arts Nomination
Nomination Criteria:
- Expanding arts opportunities to new audiences
- Improving the quality of arts experiences
- Length of service in the arts
- Creating an appreciation for North Dakota’s cultural heritage
- Making the arts more central to education or an integral part of community life
Award Categories and Descriptions:
- Arts in Education Award: Recognizes outstanding contributions to arts learning that inspire creativity and cultivate connection.
- Arts Organization Award: Honors an organization whose work strengthens the arts, connects people, and expands participation across the state.
- Community Impact Award: Honors an individual, project, or group that uses the arts to deepen connections, respond to local needs, and strengthen community life.
- Cultural Heritage Award: Honors an individual whose knowledge, practice, and teaching are vital to the survival of cultural traditions and their communities in North Dakota.
- Individual Achievement Award: Honors an individual whose sustained contributions have shaped and strengthened the arts in North Dakota.
- New Voices Award: Honors an individual early in their artistic or arts leadership career who is already making a meaningful contribution to North Dakota’s arts.
*E-mail NDCA with any questions: arts@nd.gov.
2025: Arts in Education: Bismarck State College Theatre (Bismarck); Arts Organization: Arts for Vets (Grand Forks); Arts Organization: Minot Symphony Orchestra (Minot); Individual Achievement: Marie Snavely (Bowman); Individual Cultural Heritage: Denise Joyce Kitson - Pehinsawin (Bismarck); Private Business: Business: Indigenized Behavioral Healing (Belcourt); Champion of the Arts: Ijjo John Stephen (Grand Forks)
2023: Arts in Education: Donald E. Larew (Fargo); Arts Organization: Empire Arts Center (Grand Forks); Individual Achievement: Pieper Fleck Bloomquist (Grand Forks); Individual Cultural Heritage: Bill Lowman (Sentinal Butte); Private Business: Makoche Recording Studio (Bismarck); Champion of the Arts: former state Senator Joan Heckaman (Dickinson)
2021: Arts in Education: Dr. Jo Ann Miller (Fargo); Arts Organization: Minot Area Council of the Arts (Minot); Individual Achievement: Melissa Gordon (Bismarck) and David "WhiteThunder" Trottier (Rugby); Individual Cultural Heritage: Rex Cook (Dickinson); Private Business: Maryhill Manor with Enderlin Fine Arts Association (Enderlin)
2019: Arts in Education: Annette Hovey (New Rockford); Arts Organization: Jamestown Fine Arts Association (Jamestown); Cultural Treasure: John Gross (Napoleon); Individual Achievement: David Borlaug (Bismarck) and Jessie Veeder (Watford City); Private Business: Office Sign Company (Fargo)
2017: Paul Noot (Bismarck), The Arts Partnership (Fargo), Deb Belquist (New Rockford), Bennett Brien (Belcourt), Jon Offutt (Fargo) ~ NDCA would also like to thank Matt Fern, Owner of The Creative Treatment, for filming and creating this wonderful video of the 2017 Governor’s Awards for the Arts Ceremony. The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gATmrhAEZFM&t=4s.
2015: Keith Bear (New Town), Linda Christman (Bismarck), Chuck Suchy (Mandan), Marilyn Johnson (Bismarck), Annette Rorvig (McVille)
2013: Taylor Barnes (Jamestown), Eddie “King” Johnson (Rolla), Dr. Thomas Porter (Bismarck), North Dakota Art Gallery Association (Minot), Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre (Grand Forks)
2011: North Valley Arts Council (Grand Forks), Northern Lights Arts Council (Langdon), Sleepy Hollow Summer Theater (Bismarck), Hardy Lieberg (Minot), The Hotel Donaldson (Fargo)
2009: Bradley Bachmeier (Fargo), Scott Prebys (Bismarck), Agnes Palanuk (Dickinson), Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts (New Rockford), Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, Inc. (Bismarck)
2007: Beth Gigante Klingenstein (Valley City), Little Country Theatre/NDSU Theatre (Fargo), Laurel Reuter (Grand Forks), Cynthia Schumaier-Jelleberg (Belcourt)
2005: Bill Eckroth (Bismarck), Gene Okerlund (Fargo), Glory Monson (Rugby), Walter Piehl (Minot), International Music Camp (Minot/International Peace Gardens)
2003: Mary Louise Defender Wilson (Shields), Jack Dyville and B. Michael Quale (Williston), Grand Forks Public Schools (Dr. Mark Sanford, Superintendent), Trollwood Performing Arts Schools (Fargo)
2001: Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz (Fargo), Sue Jacobson (Bottineau), David Hamilton (Fargo-Moorhead), Nelson County Arts Council (Pekin)
1999: Linda Whitney (Valley City), Rebecca Engelman (Bismarck), Gwinner Junior Players (Gwinner), Summer Performing Arts Company (Grand Forks), Hornbacher’s Foods (Fargo-Moorhead)
1997: Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (Fargo), Wayne and Bernice Stroup (Garrison)
1995: Cando Arts Council (Cando), Hal and Kathy Gershman (Grand Forks), James D. Ployhar (Fargo)
1993: David Hanna (Fargo), Jean Waldera (Dickinson), Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera (Fargo)
1991: Rosemary Landsberger (Bismarck), Peter Schickele (New York City)
1989: Alma Studness (Devils Lake), Catherine Mulligan (Fargo)
1987: Frederick Walsh (Fargo), The Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks)
1985: Vern Bennett (Fargo), Rose and Francis Cree (Dunseith)
1983: Winifred B. Stump (Dickinson), The Straus Company of North Dakota
1982: Fritz Scholder (Scottsdale, Arizona)
1981: Anne-Marit Bergstrom (Devils Lake), Phyllis Frelich (New York City), Anne W. Ness (Fort Ransom), Fargo-Moorhead Orchestral Association (Fargo)
1979: Mary Gray (Valley City), Belle Mehus (Bismarck), Plains Art Museum (Fargo)
1978: Alene Larson (Fargo), Arlene Saugstad (Minot), Prairie Arts and Humanities Council (Hettinger)
1977: John Hove (Fargo), Nellie Solberg (Bismarck), Merton Utgaard (Bottineau), Sheyenne Valley Arts and Crafts Association (Fort Ransom)