Many businesses, volunteers, and artists have significantly impacted the cultural landscape of northeast Louisiana. In 1985, to acknowledge these contributions, the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council established awards of merit which are presented on an annual basis. Arts organizations from the 11 parishes comprising Cultural Region 8 nominate businesses, volunteers, and artists whose contributions have impacted the arts in their communities and the region at large.

The BART Award, the Business Art Award, the oldest of the awards, was established in 1985. Nominees should be businesses or corporations that have made philanthropic contributions which have significantly impacted the success of the cultural programs of organizations in Region 8.

Named for the artist credited with bringing art to the masses through his art in public spaces, the Edmund Williamson Award honoring the Artist of the Year Award was established in 1993 to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of individual artists to the quality of life in northeast Louisiana. Nominees should be professional artists who have shown excellence in their discipline and have enriched the Arts community in Cultural Region 8 through their art form.

Established in 1988, the Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes an individual's service to the development of the cultural arts in our

Established in 1992, the Mary Lee Milam Award is the only award whose recipient is chosen exclusively by the Arts Council’s Board of Directors. Recipients of the award must have actively displayed enthusiasm, leadership, initiative and dedication from which the arts organizations and cultural community in Region 8 have obviously benefitted. The Mary Lee Milam Award is very special in that it is given only when an individual or organization has performed service of such value that it has had a dynamic impact on the cultural face of our regional community.

In 1999, at the request of the Arts Awards Selection Panel, a special award was created to only be awarded at the panel’s discretion and therefore not necessarily awarded annually. Because this award will only be presented under extraordinary circumstances, it is not intended to diminish the contributions of the award recipient in the category from which the honoree is selected. The Service to the Arts Award (SART) is presented to a nominee who, in the selection panel’s opinion, merits distinction because of the exemplary nature of their sense of community, dedication, enthusiasm, leadership, loyalty, pride, service, and tenacity.