Program Information

The Michigan Heritage Awards honor individuals who continue their family and community folk traditions with excellence through practice and teaching, or individuals who are recognized as outstanding community leaders in the maintenance, documentation, or presentation of traditional arts. The program was established in 1985 to call attention to Michigan's exceptional tradition bearers and supporters of traditional culture whose contributions to our state's heritage had not been recognized previously. Awards are annually presented to Michiganders who participate in a wide range of cultural practices, both to the practitioners and to those who work to support or document those traditions. These include, for example, material culture (carving, fiber art traditions, pottery, foodways, dress), performance (music, dance, storytelling), and community leadership (festival production, archival documentation, folk arts administration). Awardees receive an award plaque, special legislative tribute from the State of Michigan, and a $1,000 stipend.

A panel of invited specialists reviews the applications in early January. They look for strong evidence of community or family support, excellence of contribution or artistry, mastery of art form, a description of the tradition, and an explanation of the meaning and value of the tradition to the particular family or community.

Announcements of the awardees are made in February. Awards are conferred both at a group awards ceremony and at special ceremonies in the awardees' home communities.

For more information about the Michigan Heritage Awards Program, email us at MITraditionalArts@msu.edu.

Nominate

Nominations are usually submitted by someone who knows the nominee well; family members, friends, community members, and even students of honorees have submitted nominations.

Nominations must include a completed nomination form, at least three letters of support from community members, a portrait-style photograph of the nominee, a description of the tradition bearer's skill, and a personal biography. Depending on the tradition, the nomination package must also include photographs or physical samples of the nominee's work and/or audio (CDs, Bandcamp or SoundCloud links, etc.) or video clips of their performances (YouTube, Vimeo, or other web links accepted).

Nominations and supporting materials must be postmarked or submitted digitally (MITraditionalArts@msu.edu) by the first Monday in January each year.

MHA Nomination Form (PDF) MHA Nomination Form (DOCX) View Awardees