NH Business Committee for the Arts: 40th anniversary celebration shows how the arts reign in NH
Call for Nominations: Applications Now Being Accepted for the 40th Annual Arts Awards.
MANCHESTER, NH – For four decades, the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts (NHBCA) has hosted the only statewide event honoring outstanding business partnerships and engagement in the arts.
Applications and nominations for the 40th Annual Arts Awards are now open an NHBCA is in search of individuals, businesses and organizations who make a significant contribution to the state’s arts and cultural scene through innovative cross-sector partnerships, generous philanthropy, creative business and exceptional leadership. The application period closes on Friday, March 1.
“We are thrilled to mark our 40th anniversary of connecting business and arts in New Hampshire with our Annual Arts Awards Gala this spring,” said Tricia Soule, NHBCA executive director. “Businesses of all shapes and sizes – as well as the organizations they support – are encouraged to apply for our signature awards. There are outstanding business and arts partnerships across the state. We count on the organizations and communities that benefit from these relationships to share their stories about why these connections are important and impactful to them. Anyone can make a nomination or apply to be recognized.”
New Hampshire businesses that supported the arts in 2023 are eligible for the following awards:
- Fanfare Business Award will be awarded to a company that makes the most of their investment and/or in-kind support of the arts by creatively supporting an organization’s ability to promote its overall mission, a specific project, program or other initiative.
- Dyed-in-the-Wool Business Award will be awarded to a company that has provided steadfast support to a specific arts or cultural organization for at least five consecutive years.
- Boundless Generosity Business Award will be awarded to a company that contributes to an arts organization by leveraging their resources such as employee/staff volunteers via board service/events, use of office space, and/or financial support.
- Changemaker Business Leadership Award will be awarded to a business leader who inspires others with their longstanding support of the arts, exceptional leadership, vision and commitment in encouraging and developing the partnership between business and the arts.
- Bayberry Financial Services Artrepreneur Award will be awarded to a professional artist entrepreneur from any discipline who has successfully collaborated with other artists and/or utilized technology to grow their creative practice and business.
- Northeast Delta Dental Artsbuild Community Award will be awarded to an arts or cultural organization that formed a successful partnership with a group that the organization would otherwise not cross paths with to establish opportunities for sustained access to arts and culture through public engagement in projects, programs, or events. This can be a social services agency, nonprofit organization, or municipality, not a business.
In 2023, Summit Supply received the Fanfare Business Award for its creative advertising with The Music Hall on its growing fleet of service trucks. The business has a broad service area from Massachusetts to Maine and the mountains of New Hampshire. Therefore, the ads had the reach of a billboard without the cost. Summit Supply further collaborated with The Music Hall on a social media campaign to show the vans as they travel the region.
“Nominating sponsors for NHBCA awards is a fantastic stewardship step as I build relationships with local businesses,” said Sara Turner, corporate and foundation relations manager at The Music Hall. “What better way to express our gratitude for their support than to ask a panel of their peers to recognize them in front of the community? Nominating our friends is a gesture that goes a long way, but winning is the icing on the cake. The Music Hall nominated Summit Supply for an award in 2023 and I was sitting with owner Tom Kunysz and his family when it was announced that he had won; that moment will stay with all of us!”
The deadline for submission is Friday, March 1 at NHBCA.com. Winners are selected by an independent selection committee made up of esteemed judges. All nominees will be recognized during the 40th Annual Arts Awards Gala on Monday, May 6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown. The winners will be announced and presented with an original work of art to commemorate their support of the arts.
The New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts (NHBCA) is a membership organization dedicated to facilitating impactful partnerships between business and art. The NHBCA believes that the arts are powerful: in education, healing and building communities. The committee brings together business and arts to ensure that the creative sector is recognized for its economic power in New Hampshire’s workforce and community development through networking events, engagement opportunities, it’s annual Arts Awards and NHBCA AR+ art, and augmented reality application that brings #NHArtAnywhere. For more information or to download the NHBCA AR+ art application, visit NHBCA.com.