Nomination Form —submittable in electronic form--gathers basic information about your nomination, including contact information for the nominee and nominator, as well as the nomination category (Traditional Artist, Traditional Arts Organization or Advocate). It also includes a place to provide the required Letter of Support Contact List, the List of Support Materials, and the Narrative being submitted.

The narrative can be submitted within the electronic nomination form or as a pdf, docx, or txt files within the supportive materials link (see more information about this link below).

The narrative should make the case for the nominee’s outstanding contributions to the traditional arts in South Carolina and how their work has enriched the lives of those in their community and across the state. Where possible, please use specific examples and anecdotes to demonstrate your points.

The narrative must be no more than two pages, with at least 12-point type and one-inch margins (or 8,000 characters within the form), and should address the following points:

If nominating a traditional artist:

• Explain how the artist learned the traditional art form. For example, did the nominee learn this tradition through apprenticeships or an informal learning process, rather than through formal education? Provide details.
• How long has the nominee practiced this tradition?
• Does the art form practiced by the nominee have a history in their community?
• Describe the significance of the traditional artist or organization in maintaining the traditional art or moving it to higher levels of artistic achievement.
• Do others who practice this art form recognize the nominee as a master of this tradition? Please explain.
• In addition to these questions, answer the questions in the “For all nominees” section below.

If nominating a traditional arts advocate:

• Has the nominee raised the level of awareness about a particular tradition? Explain how.
• Describe the advocate’s significance in supporting this South Carolina tradition and presenting it to a wide audience.
• Is the nominee recognized for their support by members of the community in which the art is traditionally practiced? Please share information about this community and the nominee’s relationship to it.
• In addition to these questions, please answer the questions from the “For all nominees” section below.

For all nominees:

• Does the art form practiced or supported by the nominee have an historic connection to a South Carolina community? What is the significance of this tradition to the state’s cultural heritage?
• What is the importance of the tradition to the community in which it is practiced?
• Have others benefited in any way from the nominee’s skills or knowledge? Please provide details.
• Be sure you answer the questions asked in this section!  If the requested information is not provided, the advisory committee will not be able to review the nomination.

You may provide up to 10 current letters supporting the nomination.

• Letters can be submitted as electronic files in pdf, docx or txt formats through the submission link you will receive after completing the nomination form. Each letter must be saved separately and have a file name containing the number that corresponds to its information in the nomination form, the nominee’s name, and then the letter writer’s name.

For example, the files names might be letter 1_Nominee_Jones, and

letter 2_Nominee_Smith, etc.

• You can also submit jpeg or png image files of these letters if needed. Please make sure the image files are not larger than 300 dpi.

Letters of support should reinforce points in the narrative regarding the nominee’s knowledge, contributions, achievements, influence and community involvement, and should provide specific examples whenever possible.

Please use the Letter of Support Contact List in the Nomination Form to provide contact information for each person who has written a letter of support.

Support materials should reinforce and expand on the information provided in the narrative and letters of support. These items will be uploaded to the submission link you will receive once you have completed your nomination form. A nominee cannot be evaluated without support materials.

Please make sure that support materials are of high quality and brief, and that they convey their support of the nomination in a concise and effective way. Each item of support material must have a file name containing the nominee’s name and a number corresponding with the Support Materials List in the nomination form. For example, the file names might be Nominee Smith_1, Nominee Smith_2, etc. Please refer to the “Support Materials” portion in the nomination form for details about the types of formats and the information required with your application.

Support materials may include, but are not limited to:

• Audio recordings (clips up to 3 minutes may be submitted as mp3 audio files uploaded to the submission link for files. Please indicate in the materials description key points within the audio that are important);
• Video recordings (clips up to 3 minutes may be submitted as mp4 video files uploaded to the submission link for files. Please indicate in the materials description key points within the video that are important);
• Publications such as newspaper or magazine articles (may be uploaded as image files—i.e. jpeg or png—or as a document pdf to the submission link for files)
• Photographs (digital image files should be in jpg format no larger than 300 dpi and uploaded to the submission link for files)
• Please provide no more than 10 total pieces of support material. For example, one audio file, one video, one photograph, or one article would each be considered different pieces of support material. “Audio file” refers to one track or song, not an entire CD. You are encouraged to submit audio and/or video clips no longer than three minutes in length. If you need to submit longer work samples, please reach out to Brittany Taylor-Driggers at taylorbd@mailbox.sc.edu and also identify a brief excerpt that represents the nominee’s best, most relevant work and indicate the excerpt location in the recording (i.e. 3:02 to 5:20, etc.).

Support items that cannot be included:

• Links to external servers (like Facebook, Gogle drive, etc.) will not be accepted, as not all panelists who will review this material may not have access to these platforms.

If you have questions concerning these requirements or if you have any questions or issues with creating and submitting materials in this format, please contact Brittany Taylor-Driggers at taylorbd@mailbox.sc.edu.  Please plan 3-5 days into your submission schedule for this, if needed.