

In 2024, ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ honored six Common Good Award recipients—local leaders who are transforming lives and strengthening communities: Toni Elka, May Chau, Shirley Edgerton, Thaddeus Miles, Frederick Wiseman, and Yinette Guzman.
The ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Common Good Awards recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations pushing the boundaries of advocacy, teaching, placemaking, design thinking, and making in the realm of arts and culture – emphasizing the public influence of arts and its role in problem-solving and quality of life.
On December 6, 2025, the College will host the annual ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Common Good Awards ceremony to honor this year’s awardees.
As the nation’s first and only independent public college of art and design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨) has been a catalyst for envisioning the role of art, culture, and design in all aspects of life. We look forward to celebrating the contributions of individuals from across the Commonwealth and beyond.
In 2024, ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ honored six Common Good Award recipients—local leaders who are transforming lives and strengthening communities: Toni Elka, May Chau, Shirley Edgerton, Thaddeus Miles, Frederick Wiseman, and Yinette Guzman.
for this year’s ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Common Good Awards are now open through August 1, 2025.
ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ will honor people and organizations who make a valuable impact on society through art and design. We will celebrate those who push the boundaries of advocacy, teaching, placemaking, design thinking, and making in the realm of arts and culture, placing an emphasis on the public influence of arts and its role in problem solving and raising the quality of life for everyone.
We expect to award five or six ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ Common Good Awards this year.
We ask nominators to think broadly about individuals and organizations doing great work at the intersection of art and civic life. For instance, awards could be to an architect or landscape architect who worked on a public project or successfully incorporated public use into a private project; a public artist; an elected or appointed public official who has advanced the sector in a meaningful way; a designer who made something for a public purpose; someone who took a bold stand related to arts and culture; a youth artist working in community; someone working to address artist displacement; someone working in arts and health; an innovator, etc. Nominees in this category do not need to have any ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ affiliation.
Please note: While there is one specific alumni award, alumni may be nominated in any category.
For the purposes of nomination, arts and culture should be broadly defined, and include visual and performing arts, literature, film, fashion, design, advocacy, administration, creative economy, etc. We seek to think differently and surprise people with what might be considered arts victories. We look for nominations that are highly intersectional to illustrate the intrinsic value of arts and culture in our lives. Nominations are being solicited from the ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ community as well as the broader arts community in Massachusetts and beyond.
The deadline for submissions ended on August 1, 2025, midnight EDT.
The award ceremony will be held on December 6, 2025.
Arts, culture, and design are everywhere, embedded in all facets of our lives. As a public institution, we exist at the nexus of service, civic life, arts, and culture.Dr. Mary K. Grant, ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨ President