Governor's Awards for the Arts

The awards banquet for the 2005 North Dakota Governor's Awards for the Arts took place on February 22, 2005. Nomination forms and guidelines will be available in mid-September 2006, so start thinking about who you want to nominate.

The award is presented biannually to individuals, organizations, schools, and businesses that have made outstanding contributions to the arts in North Dakota. Recipients are selected by the governor for their efforts to:

• Expand arts opportunities to new audiences.
• Improve the quality of arts experiences.
• Creating an appreciation for North Dakota’s cultural heritage.
• Making the arts more central to education and an integral part of community life.

The first North Dakota Governor’s Awards for the Arts were presented in 1977. Since then, the awards have been presented by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the Office of the Governor, and, in 2003, the North Dakota Arts Alliance/Alliance for Arts Education. 

The Award

The awards pendant used for the Governor's Awards for the Arts was designed and created by Lakota-area artist Nelda Schrupp. Its sterling silver crown represents all of the arts. Each horsehair tassel represents one of the four disciplines in the arts: visual, theater and literary, dance, and music. The four colored beads - made from black onyx, camelian, white agate, and yellow chalcedony - on each tassel represent all races.

Nelda, a member of the Ihunktewan-Nakota Pheasant Rump First Nation who lives in Lakota, North Dakota, is a traditional artist, metalsmith, and jewelry-maker.

• View a picture of the Governor's Award for the Arts.

Nelda’s is the third design used for the Governor's Awards for the Arts. The first was an silver eagle feather designed by Kathryn McCleery of Grand Forks; the second was a wooden pallet with a violin neck designed by Mark Kenneweg of Bismarck. 

• View a picture of the silver eagle feather award.
• View a picture of the wooden pallet award.

This Years Recipients for the Governor's Awards for the Arts:

 Private Business: 

• Bill Eckroth- owner Eckroth Music, Performer, educator, and advocate for music education-Bismarck

Contact Info:  Joe Alme 838-8472 (Nominator)

                        Eckroth Music 223-6707

Arts in Education:

• Gene Okerlund- Fargo Public Schools & Learning Bank, musician, art administrator, educator-Fargo

Contact Info: Fargo Public Schools – Chuck DeRemer  446-1036

                        Lake Agassiz Arts Council – Martha Olsen 237-6133                                 (Nominators)

                        Gene Okerlund – 446-4440 (w)

Individual Achievement: 

• Glory Monson-founding member Village Arts, musician and composer, theatre director and playwright, educator-Rugby

Contact Info: Village Arts- Deb Jenkins 776-2348 and Tilman Hovland 776-6839 (Nominators)

                        Glory Monson  776-5470

• Walter Piehl-educator, mentor, painter, Notable North Dakotan-Minot

Contact Info: MSU Art Dept. – Linda Olson 858-3836 (Nominator)

                        Walter Piehl 858-3109 (w)

Arts Organization:

• International Music Camp- 50 year anniversary of providing the international community with quality arts education and instruction- Minot/International Peace Gardens.

Contact Info: Mr. Howard Dahl – Amity Technologies 232-4199 (w) (Nominator)

                         Joe Alme or Dwight Vaught – 838-8472

Past Award Recipients

1977:

• John Hove (Fargo)
• Nellie Solberg (Bismarck)
• Merton Utgaard (Bottineau)
• Sheyenne Valley Arts and Crafts Association (Fort Ransom)

1978: 

• Alene Larson (Fargo)
• Arlene Saugstad (Minot)
• Prairie Arts and Humanities Council (Hettinger)

1979: 

• Mary Gray (Valley City)
• Belle Mehus (Bismarck)
• Plains Art Museum (Fargo-Moorhead)

1981: 

• Anne-Marit Bergstrom (Devils Lake)
• Phyllis Frelich (New York City)
• Anne W. Ness (Fort Ransom)
• Fargo-Moorhead Orchestral Association

1982: 

• Fritz Scholder (Scottsdale, Arizona)

1983: 

• Winifred B. Stump (Dickinson)
• The Straus Company of North Dakota

1985: 

• Vern Bennett (Fargo)
• Rose and Francis Cree (Dunseith)

1987: 

• Frederick Walsh (Fargo)
• The Grand Forks Herald

1989: 

• Alma Studness (Devils Lake)
• Catherine Mulligan (Fargo)

1991: 

• Rosemary Landsberger (Bismarck)
• Peter Schickele (New York City)

1993: 

• David Hanna (Fargo)
• Jean Waldera (Dickinson)
• Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera

1995: 

• Cando Arts Council
• Hal and Kathy Gershman (Grand Forks)
• James D. Ployhar (Fargo)

1997: 

• Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre
• Wayne and Bernice Stroup (Garrison)

1999: 

• Linda Whitney (Valley City)
• Rebecca Engelman (Bismarck)
• Gwinner Junior Players
• Summer Performing Arts Company (Grand Forks)
• Hornbacher’s Foods (Fargo-Moorhead)

2001: 

• Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz (Fargo)
• Sue Jacobson (Bottineau)
• David Hamilton (Fargo-Moorhead)
• Nelson County Arts County (Pekin)

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

2005

• Bill Eckroth/Eckroth Music (Bismarck)
• Gene Okerlund (Fargo)
• Glory Monson (Rugby)
• Walter Piehl (Minot)
• International Music Camp Minot/International Peace Gardens)