Arts Awards

Nominations for the 2024 CAFTA Arts Awards have closed! Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination, and we greatly appreciate the care and assistance of this year’s judges: Jeanetta Darley, Antonio Horne, Rachel Lovelace, and Amber Walsh.

The 2024 Arts Awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Red Curtain Theatre in downtown Conway.

2023 Arts Awards Winners

L-R: Jima Clark Bowman, Marilyn Rishkofski, Evan Gilliard, Zélie Vaughan, Jeanetta Darley, Skylen Boyd, Jasmine DeFreitas

CAFTA celebrated its annual Arts Awards at The Max event venue in downtown Conway on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. These awards include:

Outstanding Student Achievement (K-4): Skylen Boyd
Outstanding Student Achievement (5-8): Zélie Vaughan
Outstanding Student Achievement (9-12): Jasmine DeFreitas
Outstanding Student Achievement (College): Evan Gilliard
Gene Hatfield Oustanding Individual Artist: Jeanetta Darley
CAFTA Advocate for the Arts: Marilyn Rishkofski
Outstanding Arts Educator: Roger Bowman

The award for Roger Bowman, who passed away last month, was received on his behalf by his wife of over 49 years, Jima Clark Bowman. In addition to being a prolific working artist, Roger Bowman was a retired professor of art, having taught at several universities but most recently at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) for 26 years.

Skylen Boyd, a fifth-grade student and “fashionista,” is already a star in Conway’s Young Designers Academy. She’s created bags, clothes, and other items by hand and recently placed third in a contest hosted by the Greenbrier Art Jam.

Nominations described Zélie Vaughan as “an artist, a poet, a jewelry-maker, and an advocate for change in her Simon Middle School.” Jasmine DeFreitas is already an accomplished singer/songwriter. The Conway Junior High School choir performed her original composition, “I’m Open,” just last school year.

Evan Gilliard is a senior at UCA majoring in art with an emphasis in sculpture. He works tirelessly toward graduating this December and volunteers at community events like Conway Art Walk. Jeanetta Darley is a long-established Conway artist with “excellent technical skill” and a “willingness to educate both peers and aspiring artists,” according to one nomination.

Marilyn Rishkofski has advocated for all arts in Conway for many years. She’s supported the Conway League of Artists, CAFTA, and has recently started the St. Peter’s Artists Collective (SPARC) at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where she will help feature artists in the historic building.

Information for future Arts Awards:

Nominees must demonstrate significant ability, progress made, and/or contribution to the arts in the Conway area. The Awards are not strictly limited to people who live in Conway city limits, and we encourage all artists who live, work, learn, or play in Conway to submit.

All mediums and types of art are welcome. Visual art, digital art, music, theater, dance, poetry, etc.

Multiple submissions are welcome, as are self-nominations. You may nominate an artist for multiple categories but must fill out the form completely for each nomination.

2022 Arts Awards

The Conway Arts Awards honors those who make the arts in Conway great. On Thursday, May 19th, 2022, this year’s Art Awards were presented during the final Conway Art Walk of the 2021-2022 Season.