Nothing beats creativity -- especially if it makes a difference in our community.
Since 2010, we've been on the hunt for emerging creatives in the Valley who are working on cool projects. Call them designers, performers, chefs, singers, dancers, painters, sculptors ... We're sticking to Big Brains.
This year, we're introducing a new category and highlighting the talents of some seriously crafty people in this city. Starting now, we are accepting online nominations for Valley residents who deserve to win $500 in one of the following categories: visual art, performing art, design, culinary art, online, and craft.
See more: - 2012 Big Brain Awards Winners Announced - Big Brains 2012: Meet the Finalists (VIDEO) - 2012 Artopia at The Saguaro hotel in Scottsdale (SLIDESHOW)
Winners and finalists have included designers Jon Ashcroft, Safwat Saleem and the team behind SeeSaw Designs, performers Dulce Juarez and Marcelino Quiñonez, filmmaker Saxon Richardson, writer Kim Porter, artists Peter Bugg and Thomas Greyeyes, and fashion designer Rebecca Turley, to name a few.
In the tradition of Big Brains, we'll be profiling three finalists in each category in print, as well as on Up on the Sun, our food blog, Chow Bella, and our arts blog, Jackalope Ranch. We'll announce the winners during Artopia - an evening of art, food, fashion, drinks and music on April 27. (More on that later.)
In the meantime, the Big Brain page is up and we're accepting nominations. So go ahead, enter a few names (even your own) for a Big Brain Award until March 4.