3Arts Awards

2026 3Arts Awards Celebration

When: October 26, 2026, 6:30pm
Where: Harris Theater for Music & Dance, 205 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: Purchase Tickets HERE
(Tickets on sale September 15)

The 3Arts Awards Celebration is the only event of its kind, bringing together Chicago’s artists and the greater Chicago arts community for one night only to honor and celebrate the next cohort of extraordinary 3Arts Awards recipients from both the Chicago metropolitan and Carbondale areas. 

Thirty-six artists will be honored at this year’s program with unrestricted awards across three categories: 3Arts Awards($30,000 each), Next Level Awards ($50,000 each), and the peer selected Make a Wave Awards ($2,000 each). This year’s program also features performances by past 3Arts Awardees. 

The evening starts with a welcome reception at 5:30pm. The awards presentation and performances begin at 6:30pm, followed by an after-party at 7:45pm featuring a light dinner buffet and the opportunity to meet and mingle with this year’s Awards recipients. 

 3Arts extends special thanks to the 2026 Award Partners: The HMS Fund, The SIF Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, Stan Lipkin & Evelyn Appell Lipkin, and MSU Federal Credit Union.  

3Arts also recognizes support for the Next Level Awards from the Paul Angell Foundation, an anonymous donor advised fund at The Chicago Community Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

3Arts gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Lead Sponsors: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Morningstar.

• Can’t attend? You can still support 3Arts and its mission by making a donation here.
• Help sponsor an artist attendance at the Awards Celebration by donating to our Artist Pass Donor Circle here

About the 3Arts Awards

The 3Arts Awards express our gratitude to Chicago’s artists for their indisputable contributions to the health and vibrancy of our city. Every year, ten artists who live and work in the six-county metropolitan area receive unrestricted $30,000 awards in dance, music, teaching arts, theater, and visual arts. Artists may use the award in any way that makes a difference to their lives and careers, including paying off debt, purchasing equipment, hiring collaborators, producing new work, and saving for the future.

We invite you to read two reports that compile reflections from artists who have received a 3Arts Award:

• 2014-2017: Artist Reflections
• 2008-2013: Artist Survey

We thank our Award Partners and Community Award donors for their generosity in helping 3Arts support and advocate for local artists.

Selection Process

3Arts awardees are selected through a nomination and jury process. More than 100 artists are nominated annually by at least 35 anonymous local nominators--artists, curators, presenters, and advocates--who are acutely knowledgeable about the breadth of artists working in neighborhoods across the metropolitan area.

After the nominees have completed our online application process, five national, discipline-specific panels of jurors convene to select ten awardees from the applicant pool. 3Arts requires panelists to disclose conflicts of interest as part of the selection process. If a strong personal or professional relationship exists between a panelist and a nominated artist that might be an impediment to the integrity of the process, a full recusal from the discussion and vote is implemented.

In honor of the time and energy it takes to apply, all artists who submit an application will receive a $100 honorarium. 

We express our gratitude to the most recent jury panelists. 

Profiles of all 3Arts Awards recipients are accessible further below on this page, or download an awardee list in PDF here.