Brighton’s Excellence in Arts Awards were established in 2015 to honor Brighton’s vibrant cultural arts community. BCAC created the Awards to celebrate individuals and groups who are cultural arts “champions.”
In 2025 BCAC will recognize seven categories of cultural achievement: Master of Performing Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Beyond Brighton Contributor, Master of Cultural Arts in Education, Visionary, Outstanding Volunteer and Master of Literary Arts.
Past Recipients
Past Master of Performing Arts recipients are: 2015 Phil “Armonico” Trujillo, 2016 Kali Palmer, 2017 Bonnie Simcox, 2019 Andy Bergy and Kelly Van Oosbree, 2021 Chris Romero, 2022 Julie Trujillo, 2023 Brighton Music Choir and Orchestra, and 2024 Platte Valley Players.
Past Master of Fine Arts recipients are: 2015 Main Street Creatives, 2016 Kathy Wardle, 2017 Kim Shaklee, 2019 Judee Dickinson, 2022 Sheri Farabaugh, 2023 Jan Hepp-Struck, and 2024 Sharon Krohn.
Past Beyond Brighton recipients are: 2015 Kat McCusker, 2016 Benna Harris, 2017 Ed Hawkins, 2019 Jerry Jaramillo, 2021 Dolly Garcia, 2022 Jamie Zerr-Lockwood, 2023 Kathy and Ed Hansen, and 2024 Kary Mayes.
Past Master of Cultural Arts in Education recipients are: 2015 Jane Archuleta, 2016 Linda Bau, 2017 Alexander Lisman, 2019 Nicole Moots, 2021 Sydney Vander Wal, 2022 Paula Atkins, 2023 Judd Farmer, and 2024 Leslie Zirker.
Past Visionary recipients are: 2015 Mark Humbert and Allison Lockwood, 2016 Ron Ames, 2017 Lisa Garbett, 2019 Helen Rodriguez, 2021 Wilma Rose, 2022 Gary Wardle, 2023 Sue Corbett, and 2024 Gary Montoya.
Past Outstanding Volunteer recipients are: 2019 Sandie Mackenzie, 2021 Stephanie Brown, 2022 Natalie Beck, 2023 MJ McCafferty, and 2024 Lindy Olson.
Past Master of Literary Arts recipients are: 2021 Jo Pinto, 2022 Rhonda Blackhurst, 2023 Elena Guerrero Townsend, and 2024 Robin Kring.
Past Art in the Community recipients are: 2015 Laurie Maier and 2016 Sherry Chance.
