Peter Capell Award

To be eligible for the 2025 award, you must:

• Live and/or work within Minnesota or Native Nations sharing that same geography. Their primary impact should be within that geographic region.
• Be employed by an organization that offers creative or cultural programming as a manager, director, or similar position. Organizations may be nonprofit or for-profit.
• Have a demonstrated history of engaging in partnerships and collegiality within the community in which they work.
• Have at least 10 years’ experience in their field.

Arts Midwest welcomes nominations for creative leaders that reflect a range of perspectives, locations, and experience.

The following individuals are not eligible for the award:

• Current Arts Midwest Board and staff members, and their families.
• Elected officials.

Arts Midwest uses SmartSimple grants portal for applications. You must register in the system before you apply, if you are a new user. Please follow the steps below to complete your registration and your application.

Step 1: Registration (for new users only)

1. Register in our SmartSimple grants portal
2. On the registration page, click “Individuals”
3. Input your information. If you are nominating someone, please input your information as the nominator; you will share the nominee’s information in the application.
4. Once you have filled out your registration and submitted, you will receive an email with a login link. Click on the login link.
5. The link will take you to a screen where you will create a new password for your account. Then click submit.
6. Once you have created the password, you will receive a verification code in your email. Copy the verification code from that email, and paste in the box on the login page.
7. Now you’re in the SmartSimple portal! Make sure your profile is correct. Go to the top right corner with your name letter symbol and click on Personal Profile. Confirm the info is correct from your registration.

Step 2: Application

Navigate to the Individual Portal Home. To begin the application, click on “Begin a new application.” Click “Apply Now” on Peter Capell Award.

1. Click save and begin your application.
   • For the first question:
     • If you completed the registration for yourself, click “I’m filling out this application for myself.” Your registration information will appear.
     • If you registered yourself as the artist and are getting assistance with the application, you may click “I’m getting assistance filling out this application for myself” and it will prompt you to share your assistant’s contact information.
     • If you registered to nominate someone with their consent, click “I’m nominating someone” and it will prompt you to fill out the artist’s contact information.

Anyone may submit a nomination that meets the eligibility criteria noted above. Self-nominations are allowed. Applications are due October 16, 2025.

You will be asked to answer:

• Eligibility questions
• Narrative: In 500 words or fewer, please explain why the applicant/nominee is an exceptional candidate for this award based on their Entrepreneurial Thinking, Creative Accomplishments, and Community Commitment.
• Supporting documentation: Please upload one file that showcases the applicant/nominee’s Entrepreneurial Thinking, Creative Accomplishments, and Community Commitment. Examples include: a two-page document (press releases, media article, brochure, resume, portfolio) OR an audio or video file of no more than 5 minutes in length.

You will receive an email confirmation to confirm receipt of your application. Arts Midwest staff will contact you if we have any questions.

Arts Midwest staff members will review nominations for eligibility and will recommend a group of finalists to a committee of Arts Midwest Board members. This committee will recommend a winner to Mr. Capell for his concurrence.

Staff and board will use the following review criteria to assess nominations:

• Entrepreneurial thinking: Does the applicant/nominee demonstrate entrepreneurial thinking, business acumen, and innovation in their work and accomplishments?
• Creative accomplishments: Does the applicant/nominee’s work include notable accomplishments in creativity, arts, and/or cultural programming?
• Community commitment: Does the applicant/nominee demonstrate a commitment to and action toward increasing access to the arts, creativity, and/or cultural programming for under-resourced communities? Has the applicant/nominee fostered cross-sector partnerships that advance creativity and build communities?

Arts Midwest staff will notify the awardee in November 2025. The award recipient will receive a $2,500 unrestricted cash award from Arts Midwest.

Arts Midwest works to ensure that grant guidelines, presentations, and any other written materials are created with accessibility and disability experiences in mind. Staff are happy to work with applicants on alternative formats, including but not limited to using an adapted form in Microsoft Word or taking verbal responses.

Please complete this form so we can help make a grant or program accessible to you. We may not be able to accommodate requests made after October 5, 2025.

Visit our Accessibility Policy for more information on our commitment to accessibility.

• September 16, 2025: Nominations open
• October 16, 2025: Nominations close
• October-November 2025: Staff and Board conduct review
• Late November 2025: Awardee announced

The Peter Capell Award for Midwestern Creativity & Entrepreneurship is an initiative of Arts Midwest.

Arts Midwest is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Indiana Arts Commission, Iowa Arts Council, Michigan Arts and Culture Council, Minnesota State Arts Board, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, South Dakota Arts Council, Wisconsin Arts Board, individual donors, and other institutional partners.