Neddy at Cornish FAQ

The Neddy at Cornish artist awards are among the largest awards for visual artists in the State of Washington, providing two annual awardees gifts of $25,000, and six finalists $2,000 each, to artists living and working in the Puget Sound region (Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, San Juan, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom counties). The award is funded by the Behnke Foundation and stewarded by Cornish College of the Arts as a tribute to Seattle painter and educator Ned Behnke (1948-1989).

Neddy awardees are visual artists who demonstrate artistic excellence and commitment to and development of their work over time.

Ned Behnke embodied Cornish College of the Art’s mission of developing artists as citizens. As the awards honor Ned’s legacy, Neddy award recipients reflect and embody his belief in the power of art and artists to be positive forces in our world. The criteria for the awards are:

• Demonstrated commitment to artistic excellence and development of personal art practice;
• Demonstrated engagement–broadly defined–with the world through your art.

The Neddy at Cornish recognizes that artists today work not only within but also between and across disciplines. There are two award categories, Painting and Open Medium, artists are asked to apply to the award category that best represents their practice.

PAINTING: In honor of Ned Behnke and his passion for painting, one Neddy at Cornish award celebrates artists who continue to innovate in through this medium.

OPEN MEDIUM: Reflecting the ever-increasing possibilities in contemporary art practices, one Neddy at Cornish award honors artists who work in any medium or combination of media grounded in the visual arts.

These include but are not limited to photography, ceramics, video, installation art and multiple or combined mediums.

Applicants must fulfill the online application requirements (most file types are accepted, details on file types will be listed in the application) by the application deadline. Applications sent by mail, submitted in person, or arriving late or incomplete will not be considered. The application is free. Click the Apply Now button on our page to get started.

Artists applying for the Neddy at Cornish must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and full-time residents of Washington State, residing in the greater Puget Sound region (Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, San Juan, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties)
• Be 18 years of age or older during the time of application
• Must demonstrate development of the work over time
• Must be available on date of national juror visit and during video production; finalists will be notified of these dates and if they are not available, the nomination goes to an alternate
• Previous Neddy Awardees of the $25,000 prize are ineligible to reapply. Previous Neddy Finalists, recipients of the $2,000 prize, are eligible to reapply after a one-year hiatus
• Students currently enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate degree programs at the time of application are ineligible. Those who have completed all degree requirements at the time of application, but have yet to matriculate may be eligible pending verification. Please contact program staff for more information.
• Cornish College of the Arts full-time core faculty and trustees are ineligible.

Any questions please contact neddyinfo@cornish.edu

Students currently enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate degree programs at the time of application are ineligible. Those who have completed all degree requirements at the time of application, but have yet to matriculate may be eligible pending verification. Please contact Neddy at Cornish staff for more information.

A panel of three regional arts professionals reviews all applications and selects four finalists in each category (Painting and Open Medium). From this pool of eight artists, a single national juror from outside the region reviews each application packet and visits each artists’ studio, selecting the two $25,000 awardees.