Mayor’s Awards in the Arts

About the Mayor's Awards in the Arts

Held each fall, the Ogden City Mayor's Awards in the Arts program was created to provide an opportunity to shine the light of recognition on individual artists and arts organizations that are making a difference in our community through the arts.

Each year we invite the public to take a moment to nominate a deserving artist, art advocate, or organization for the Ogden City Mayor's Awards in the Arts.

Nominations

Nominations are open year-round. The nominations were officially open on Monday, June 12th at 8 a.m. and closed on Friday, August 11, 2023.

Any nominations received after that date will be considered for the 2024 Awards Ceremony.

*Please click here for the nomination form

Cole Eisenhour

Cole Eisenhour is a Utah based artist specializing in realistic painting and drawing. He graduated from Utah Valley University with a BS in Art and Visual Communications. Eisenhour’s work is a visual pursuit to capture individuality from his subject matter. He constantly searches for new and compelling imagery, continually motivated by the natural beauty of the world. Through this appreciation, he’s found a love for capturing the realism of a subject and making a piece come to life. Eisenhour’s primary focus is figurative work and channeling narratives through a well-executed painting. He works to highlight the beauty within individuals, in hopes of capturing the purest rendition of reality. Through realistic painting and drawing he finds new ways of abstracting and capturing his visual language. Eisenhour’s curiousness pushes him to explore new subject matter and new ways of conveying his ideas. This process is constantly evolving and changing. He doesn’t remain stagnant in his approach or application. For him, experimenting keeps the spark alive and his skills ever evolving. In essence, Eisenhour believes through his explorations he may provide the spectator a reality viewed through his lens.

Patrick Ramsay

Patrick Ramsay is a queer Utah-based poet who was raised in and along the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. He earned his B.A. in English & creative writing at Weber State University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of Metaphor Literary Journal. He owns Happy Magpie Book & Quill, an independent pay-what-you-can bookshop in Ogden, Utah, where he frequently hosts literary arts events

. His poems focus on land, heart, and community in the West, and they have appeared in Gwarlingo, NPR, Hyacinth Magazine, Halophyte Magazine, LQ Magazine, QSaltLake, Sink Hollow, The Standard-Examiner, and more. You can find more of Patrick’s work in his debut poetry chapbook, “Butterflies are Rare in Beehives” or on Instagram @writepatrick.

OFOAM

Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music (OFOAM) formed in 2008 by executive director Michelle Tanner to bring the outdoor music festival experience to Ogden. She was joined in 2010 by co-director, Reba Nissen and together, the two have built a team of passionate volunteers. In 15 years, OFOAM has presented 14 Ogden Music Festivals at Weber County’s Fort Buenaventura and 4 Ogden Valley Roots & Blues Festivals at Weber County’s North Fork Park. Additionally, OFOAM has presented 16 concerts, 11 free-to-the public outreach concerts and 10 student outreach concerts at accessible venues including Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden Amphitheater, Ogden and Ben Lomond High School Auditoriums, The Monarch and others. OFOAM showcases local artists in addition to bringing acclaimed national touring artists to Ogden.

OFOAM’s flagship event, The Ogden Music Festival, follows the traditions of camping, workshops and campground jams found at other bluegrass festivals. The Ogden Music Festival uniquely offers a more diverse line-up of traditional and contemporary Americana music including bluegrass, folk, old-time, R & B, blues, soul, and Latin American music. In 2021, OFOAM partnered with 3 Hispanic civic organizations and the Ogden School District to start an annual Dia de los Muertos en Ogden celebration featuring a national Hispanic/Latinx touring artist, a juried student art show, student performances, youth Mariachi, and traditional dancers.

From the beginning, youth 16 & under get in free to all OFOAM events. OFOAM puts instruments in the hands of youth with an Instrument Petting Zoo. In 2021, OFOAM purchased instruments to increase the quality and quantity of instruments in the Petting Zoo and thus started the Weber Instrument Lending Library for Weber Acoustic Youth (WILL & WAY) to loan instruments and provide lessons to underserved youth. To date, the WILL & WAY has loaned 20 instruments from their library of 56 instruments and served 110 students in 164 classes in partnership with Boy & Girls Clubs Weber/Davis, Youth Impact, Weber County Library, and Ben Lomond High School. This year, OFOAM will add Mariachi instruments to the lending library and is working with Ogden School District, Mariachi director Allan Moreno, and the Eccles Art Center to begin Mariachi instruction in Ogden.

Danielle Bendinelli

A transplant from West Texas, Danielle has embraced Utah and grown to adore the state’s creative arts industry over the years. With a degree in Broadcast Journalism, she has been immersing herself in different aspects of media advertising, public relations, event organization and marketing for over 23 years, but is proud to spend her off time as a competitive volunteer. In showing support to the community, she has served on multiple event and fund-raising committees, has been involved with the Ogden Arts Festival since 2013, is the current Past Chair of the Utah Cultural Alliance Foundation (UCAF), a member of the Board of Directors for On Stage Ogden and working towards her Change Leaders certification with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums. Danielle spent 6 years on the board of the Egyptian Theater Foundation, served on the original steering committee for the Nine Rails Creative District and moonlights as the coordinator for the Community Art Show program presented by Ogden City Arts. During her time with UCAF, Danielle has been a legislative advocate for the arts and culture industry representing organizations and initiatives during Arts Day on the Hill at the Utah State Capital, an American for The Arts conference in Washington D.C. and as a member of the Davis Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee. But her true advocacy lies in her determination to connect artists and the community. Though her path has led her to hold many job titles in various worlds, she has managed to consistently find a way to provide opportunities for art and creativity to be a part of her vision. From hosting art classes at multiple venues, to providing retail window space for local artwork displays and producing mini art fairs and pop-up events; allowing artists to thrive and engage with new audiences has become a staple in her professional career. Danielle loves seeing Ogden’s growth of creativity and the city’s pursuit of artistic expression and appreciation and is thrilled to be a small part of it. Her accomplishments would not be possible without the partnerships of so many amazing teams, committees, employers, and her “Match Made in Space” B. J. Whimpey. She prefers to remain in the background and is just happy to do things if there is a free volunteer shirt involved but is also humbled and honored to be recognized for an Ogden City Mayor’s Award in the Arts.

Weber County R.A.M.P.

RAMP was the dream of Neila Seshachari. Unfortunately, she passed away before her dream became a reality. To honor his wife, her husband Dr. Candadai Seshachari, or Sesh, as he was known to all who knew and loved him, along with several others, created a steering committee to get the Weber County Recreation, Arts, Museums and Parks tax on the ballot. The steering committee spent countless hours going to city meetings and door to door explaining to the citizens how RAMP would benefit the community. Because of their dedication, RAMP was approved on the 2004 ballot.

The first year of RAMP funding was 2006. Since that time every RAMP board member has taken the responsibility of being a steward of the RAMP tax dollars very seriously. They spend countless hours making sure that the funding is spent appropriately and in the best possible way to serve our community. From 2006 to 2023 RAMP has contributed over $61,000,000 to Recreation, Arts, Museums and Parks throughout all of Weber County.

RAMP has funded incredible pathways, parks, artists, community recreation and art centers, festivals, plays, musicals, museum exhibits, horses and pianos in Downtown Ogden, artwork at OGX bus stops, and the list goes on. RAMP is a driving force in Weber County for the arts, for recreation, for economic development, but most importantly for improving the quality of life for all the citizens of Weber County.