NOMINATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, July 15, 2025, 11:59pm

OVERVIEW:
The Tacoma Arts Commission is accepting nominations for the 2025 AMOCAT Arts Awards, which recognize the people, organizations, and groups that positively impact Tacoma with their passion, innovation, and commitment to the arts.

The Tacoma Arts Commission will review all nominations and select finalist(s) in each award category based on the breadth and depth of the nominee’s community impact as well as the quality of the work being done by the nominee, not by the number of times the nominee was nominated. The 2025 AMOCAT Arts Awards will be presented by Tacoma City Council on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market Street.

All 2025 AMOCAT Arts Awards nominees will be shared publicly on the Tacoma Arts Month website.

AWARD CATEGORIES:

• Community Outreach by an Individual – Community outreach, engagement, and involvement in the arts in Tacoma by an individual
• Community Outreach by an Organization – Community outreach, engagement, and involvement in the arts in Tacoma by an organization
• Arts Patron – A community partner who significantly supports or contributes to the arts in Tacoma

TO MAKE A NOMINATION:
Simply fill out the following form to submit a nomination.

ELIGIBILITY FOR PREVIOUS AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Individuals, organizations, and patrons previously selected as Award recipients are now eligible to be nominated and considered again after 5 years has passed since their last award.

PAST AMOCAT ARTS AWARD RECIPIENTS

Community Outreach by an Individual
   2024 Lourdes Jackson and Anida Yoeu Ali
   2023 Reid Ozaki and Kristina Batiste
   2022 Tamiko Nimura
   2019 Aya Hashiguchi Clark and Randy Clark
   2018 Jackie Casella
   2017 Michael Haeflinger
   2016 Christopher Paul Jordan
   2015 Connie K Walle
   2014 Jessica Spring
   2013 David Domkoski
   2012 Katy Evans
   2011 Stella Haioulani
   2010 Oliver Doriss
   2009 William Kupinse
   2008 Linda Danforth
   2007 Lance Kagey & Tom Llewellyn
   2006 Laura and Matt Eklund
   2005 Jared Pappas-Kelley and Michael S. Lent
   2004 Lynn Di Nino

Community Outreach by an Organization
   2024 Black Night Market
   2023 Southeast Asian Comedy Collective
   2022 Real Art Tacoma
   2019 Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center (T.U.P.A.C.)
   2018 Tacoma Little Theatre
   2017 Monkeyshines
   2016 Tacoma Youth Symphony Association
   2015 Tacoma Public Library
   2014 Asia Pacific Cultural Center
   2013 Puget Sound Book Artists
   2012 The Grand Cinema
   2011 D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts
   2010 Fab-5
   2009 Hilltop Artists
   2008 King's Books
   2007 Victory Music
   2006 Barefoot Studios
   2005 Tacoma School of the Arts
   2004 Tacoma Art Museum & Museum of Glass Education Programs, Arts Impact

Arts Patron
   2024 Mattice Hoyt of Mattice Beauty Supply
   2023 Foster’s Creative
   2022 Grit City Magazine
   2019 Tacoma Creates Campaign
   2018 MultiCare Health System
   2017 Tacoma Housing Authority
   2016 Metro Parks Tacoma
   2015 University of Washington Tacoma
   2014 ArtsFund
   2013 Erivan and Helga Haub and family
   2012 Key Bank
   2011 The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
   2010 Urban Grace Church
   2009 City Arts
   2008 Hotel Murano
   2007 The Weekly Volcano
   2006 6th Avenue Business District
   2005 Pierce Transit
   2004 Sound Transit Art Program

The Tacoma Arts Commission invites Tacoma artists and creatives, working in all artistic disciplines and mediums, to apply for the Tacoma Studio Tour and/or Arts at the Armory. You only need to fill out this one application to be considered for either or both events.

About the Tacoma Studio Tour

The Tacoma Studio Tour is an exciting opportunity to invite the public into a working studio or performance space, give demonstrations of how you make your work, or host a simple interactive activity with the community. This tour emphasizes raising awareness of artists and creatives and providing opportunities for the community to connect to the arts. Your working studio and/or performance space must be located in Tacoma. A studio is defined as a location where artwork is created on a consistent basis. Artists and creatives are also welcome to participate as guests in someone else's studio or creative working space. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in the Tacoma Studio Tour.

The Tacoma Studio Tour is happening on Saturday & Sunday, October 11 & 12, 2025, from 11 am – 5 pm. You can choose to be open on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. While not required, we encourage you to have work for sale; no commission will be taken on any sales, and you will handle any sale of your work directly. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email communications, social media posts, and an interactive website and map. We will also produce a printed mailer for the Tacoma Studio Tour. We kindly require each participating artist and creative to actively promote the Tacoma Studio Tour to their own contacts; we will provide publicity materials for this use. Thanks for your support!

This year, we will be continuing the Studio Tour Passport program as an incentive for people to visit new and/or multiple studios. Each studio space will receive a unique stamp to indicate guests’ attendance through their participation. You are encouraged, but not required, to donate a small art item that can be included in the prize packages.

About Arts at the Armory

Arts at the Armory is an arts market for Tacoma-based artists and creatives who would like to share and/or sell their work with the community, side by side with other creatives, all under the roof of the Tacoma Armory. You are not required to provide an interactive experience or demonstration at this event. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in Arts at the Armory.

The event will be held Saturday & Sunday, November 15 & 16, 2025, from 11 am – 5 pm, inside the spacious Tacoma Armory (1001 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma). You can choose to participate on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. Participating artists and creatives will be assigned a maximum of a 10’x10’ space (table and chair provided if requested in advance), where they can share/demonstrate their work and talk about their creative practice with the general public.

While not required, we encourage you to have work for sale; no commission will be taken on any sales, and you will handle any sale of your work directly. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce publicity materials including email communications, social media posts, posters, etc. We kindly require participating artists and creatives to actively promote Arts at the Armory to their own contacts. We will provide you with all the publicity materials you need to make this easy and effective. Thanks for your support!

You will be responsible for setting up, being present, staffing, and tearing down your own space. All displays and setups must be freestanding (no wall attachments allowed) and fit within the allotted space. You are not allowed to provide and/or sell food or beverages to the public or have any open flames.

Eligibility

The following eligibility criteria applies for both the Tacoma Studio Tour and Arts at the Armory:

• You must live within the Tacoma city limits and/or your regular working studio or performance space must be located within the Tacoma city limits.
• Your work must be created, performed, and/or made by you; not commercially acquired and/or appropriated.

If applying for the Tacoma Studio Tour and you would like to be a guest at another artist’s studio location, the eligibility guidelines listed above still apply. Each artist or creative in a group studio needs to submit their own application, work samples, and artist statement.

Creatives and artists who identify as members of the Global Majority; Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color (BBIPOC); African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, Native-American (ALAANA) communities; economically or socio-economically marginalized communities; LGBTQIA+ communities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply

The deadline for applications is Sunday, July 6th, 2025, by 11:59 pm.

All applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Tacoma Arts Commission and selected based on the quality of work and the overall variety of artistic disciplines and work represented. The selection process for the Tacoma Studio Tour will also take into account the geographic diversity of the studio locations. 

If applying for both the Tacoma Studio Tour and Arts at the Armory, your application for each event will be considered separately. Past participation in either of these events does not guarantee future selection to participate.

By applying for the Tacoma Studio Tour and/or Arts at the Armory, and if accepted, you are committing to participate in the event(s), unless serious circumstances occur that make your participation not possible.

Eligible artists and creatives interested in either of these opportunities must fill out this online application form.

Questions?

Contact Daniel Garcia at (253) 830-6763 or dgarcia2@tacoma.gov.

The Tacoma Arts Commission is accepting applications for the 2025-2027 Tacoma Poet Laureate position. Literary artists who are emerging, professional, or established and producing poetry in any form, genre, or style are encouraged to apply. Writers who work in genres intersecting with poetry are also welcome to apply. The Poet Laureate will build community, amplify what makes Tacoma unique, and provide opportunities for people’s voices to be heard.

The Tacoma Poet Laureate will hold the title a period of two years, from September2025 to April 2027, and receive a $6,000 stipend paid in four installments over the term. The Poet Laureate will also have access to a project budget of up to $1,000 to support public programming. Responsibilities include actively contributing to Tacoma’s literary community in meaningful ways through readings, performances, workshops, presentations, publications, and/or special projects; participating in Tacoma Arts Month each October; presenting at official City of Tacoma events as invited; and helping to produce the 2027 Tacoma Poet Laureate ceremony to announce the next Laureate.

The Poet Laureate will determine the direction, focus, and public components of their term of service. The Poet Laureate is expected to uphold principles of equity and inclusion, ensuring programming reaches and resonates with all communities across Tacoma. The individual should actively strive to engage Tacoma’s diverse communities, including those shaped by intersecting identities such as race, gender, age, ability, and economic background, expanding access to the literary arts for underserved/underrepresented audiences.

The current Tacoma Poet Laureate will curate and host a poetry event at which the newly selected Poet Laureate will be honored. The event date will be sometime in mid to late August 2025 and will be announced soon.

In alignment with Tacoma City Council Resolution 40622, the Tacoma Arts Commission is committed to sustained and transformational anti-racist work, including programming supported through the Tacoma Poet Laureate program. As stated by Mayor Victoria Woodards, "Dismantling more than 400 years of systemic racism will not happen overnight. This must be a sustained effort that invites the whole community to join us in radically reimagining our institutions and the services they provide."

The Tacoma Arts Commission is striving toward social justice. We are committed to supporting equitable opportunities to broaden artistic expression while encouraging inter-sectional communities through inclusive relationships and outreach. Arts and culture are uniquely positioned to touch every person and every part of Tacoma. We are committed to supporting the entirety of our community.

We invite applicants to consider how their proposed community engagement work can help build a more Compassionate Tacoma with projects that are equitable and inclusive, offer opportunities for connection and relationship building, and contribute to the social, emotional, and physical well-being of our residents.

Before applying, please read the full guidelines for complete terms.