A big congratulations to Djapo Cultural Arts Center (representing Cleveland, as a nominee of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture), Best in Show for the highest overall score in this year’s all-Ohio Columbus Invitational Arts Competition, as well as First Place, Most Depth, Best Craft and Audience Favorite in the Performing Arts Category. In addition to exemplifying our basic criteria of combining artistic excellence with exceptional community involvement, Djapo also showed a dominant command of the three qualities outlined by our judging rubric. Their highly rehearsed, complex and technical performance showed their high degree of Craft, their varied choreography and costumes showed their Creativity, and their narrative structure and ritual elements added a sense of cultural and spiritual Depth.

Congratulations as well to our other wonderful winners, including the playful and inventive winner of First Place, Best Craft, Most Depth and Most Creative in the Visual Arts Category, for Mimi Kato’s Landscape Retreat: High Noon. Mimi was competing on behalf of SPACES Galley (also representing Cleveland as a nominee of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture).

The other winners are:

PERFORMING ARTS
Second Place, Most Creative – Dayton Gay Mens’ Chorus (Dayton Culture Works Nominee)
Third Place – Jazz Alive (Cincinnati)
Special Award for Professionalism in the Face of Adversity – Children’s Theatre Workshop (Toledo Arts Commission Nominee)

VISUAL ARTS
Second Place in Visual Arts – Alberto Marin: Sofia Quintero (Toledo Arts Commission Nominee)
Third Place in Visual Arts – Theresa Touma: ROY G BIV Gallery (Columbus, a 2015 CIAC Winner)
Audience Favorite in Visual Arts – Jing He: ROY G BIV Gallery