Alan Cooper Leadership in the Arts Award

Alan W. Cooper served as Executive Director of Mid Atlantic Arts for twenty-three years, from 1994 to 2017. Under Cooper’s Leadership, Mid Atlantic Arts established a reputation for excellence, integrity, and innovative programs and services that extend beyond the mid-Atlantic region to national and international communities. Cooper nurtured a true partnership among the region’s State Arts Agencies and the nation’s Regional Arts Organizations. His belief in the importance of public-private partnerships and international cultural exchange was reflected in the programs he developed and fostered, and his commitment to diverse creative expression and belief in the arts as an agent of change made him a champion of the arts throughout his career.

Established in 2017, the Alan Cooper Leadership in the Arts Award celebrates leaders who continue Cooper’s legacy of creating responsive and innovative opportunities for artists, arts organizations, and audiences.

The Alan Cooper Leadership in the Arts Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated visionary leadership in the arts, leaving a meaningful impact on those they have served. Through their work in the arts, recipients of the Leadership Award will have:

• Demonstrated a history of deep engagement with their community.
• Created equitable outcomes for communities and populations that face historic and systemic barriers to full participation in society and the arts – examples may include: expanding access for audiences and artists, opening doors for underrepresented voices, fairly distributing resources, and many others.
• Though not required for eligibility, Mid Atlantic Arts is particularly interested in recognizing leaders who have made significant advances in the areas of public-private partnerships and international cultural exchange.

Mid Atlantic Arts acknowledges that long-standing systems and practices within the arts sector have led to significant barriers to equitable access and investment for individuals and across communities. Nominations are strongly encouraged for leaders whose work has positively impacted communities and populations identifying as Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color, LGBTQIA2S+, Persons with Disabilities, Persons whose primary language is not English, and/or are from rural and remote communities.

Requirements

Eligible nominees’ work will have served communities in one or more of Mid Atlantic Arts’ nine partner jurisdictions of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia; though impact may extend from the mid-Atlantic region to national or international communities.

• We strongly encourage the nomination of arts leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color, LGBTQIA2S+, Persons with Disabilities, Persons whose primary language is not English, and/or are from rural and remote communities.
• Nominations are encouraged for active arts leaders from all career stages (early-, mid-, and late-career) and from all areas or disciplines in the arts industry.
• Eligible nominees must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• Mid Atlantic Arts recognizes the value of partnership and collaboration in leadership and welcomes the nomination of shared leadership/co-leaders. Please note that nominations of co-leaders must be completed as a single nomination submission.

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARD

• Current Mid Atlantic Arts board members and staff members, and their families, are not eligible for the award and are not permitted to submit nomination materials.
• Elected officials and political appointees are not eligible for the award.
• Previous Alan Cooper Leadership in the Arts Award recipients are not eligible for nomination.
• Self-nominations are not eligible.
• Nominations received after the nomination deadline (May 26, 2022) will be deemed ineligible.