Anyone who has ever decided to make photographs, create prints, or paint pictures knows that training, mentoring and support are essential to the success of these artistic endeavors. Non-profit arts organizations—including arts associations, school programs, and other groups—are a prime source, and often the only source, of these services in communities across the country.

Gallery System is a company that owes its existence to the art world, and as people who treasure the creative spirit, we wanted to help recognize and support these groups. That is why we established the Gallery System ArtsUp Awards Program four years ago to provide art hanging equipment to deserving organizations, and why we are asking the arts community for nominations for this year’s awards.

Each year, a Grand Prize winner and a Runner-Up receive $1000 and $500 in art display equipment respectively. Anyone may nominate an organization, and self-nominations are welcome—the process takes only a few minutes. Organizations must be based in the United States, non-profit or publicly funded, and have a display space where the equipment can be installed.

It has been extremely gratifying to see the winning organizations use their art display equipment so effectively. Some, like the Spring Street Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY,  have opened new exhibition spaces, others (like The Creative Center at University Settlement, profiled here last year) have leveraged their upgraded display capabilities to reach new funding sources and achieve more exposure.

The 2015 Grand Prize winner, the Greenville, Miss., Arts Council, recently celebrated the centennial of its E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center facility with a festive ceremony that featured creative use of their art hanging equipment. Executive director Mary Catherine Davis noted, “In honor of the artists whose work is now a part of our permanent collection, we used the award equipment to display pieces at the ceremony suspended from the ceiling. We got great local press coverage, and everyone was super impressed with how we were able to display the work. We have really enjoyed using the system in our Roger D. Malkin Gallery; the adjustable hangers have made installing the work a breeze, and the award has allowed us much more freedom in the way we can install works of art throughout our facility, not just in the gallery space.”

If you know of an organization that could make this kind of good use of a new art hanging system, please send them our way – we would love to consider them for this year’s ArtsUp Awards.

The deadline to nominate an organization is May 31. Submit nominations here.