WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Wichitans are encouraged to nominate their favorite artist, arts educator or business that supports the arts for the upcoming Arts and Cultural Empowerment, or ACE, Awards.

Check out the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture’s website for more information on how to participate in the ACE Awards.

Carney Porter: Well, Ann Arnold-Ogden is joining me now. She’s here to tell us about the ACE Awards that are coming up soon, and the deadlines for those nominations are coming up quick. So thank you so much for being here.

Ann Arnold-Ogden: Thanks for having me. We’ve only got a week and a half left for you to put in your nominations in several different categories. So we want everyone to log on right now to Wichita Falls Arts dot org, search for the ACE Awards logo, which you see behind us, so lovely, and nominate your favorite arts educator or nonprofit favorite artist or a business that even supports the arts.

This is a great opportunity for us to all get in the same room, and talk about what we’re doing to make this a more beautiful, vibrant and exciting community. I mean, you look around and you see all the things happening downtown, across the city with the arts, and it’s just incredible. So it’s time to honor that, and it’s time to really get together and celebrate what’s happening in arts and culture.

Carney Porter: No, I agree completely. And so maybe for those who are looking to nominate, if they’re thinking, you know, oh, well, you know, this kind of meets those requirements, maybe it doesn’t on some ends. How do you think they would know, just maybe off a gut feeling to say, hey, like, let’s go for it and nominate?

Ann Arnold-Ogden: I told somebody yesterday that said, you know, I’d really like to nominate so-and-so for X, Y, Z. And I said, you know what? This is the second year. There’s no rules. Yeah, help us make the rules to help us.

You know, we’ve got a panel of independent folks that are on the selection committee that are going to be scoring these applications, that are going to be able to look through those. It’s not me reading them. I’m out. It’s fine, don’t worry. And you know, they’re going to be able to say, yes, this meets this criteria. Absolute what?

Carney Porter: Here comes Steve. Steve, come on now. You haven’t been out of the game that long.

Ann Arnold-Ogden: My hair wasn’t this long then. I had the anchor bob back then.

Carney Porter: Oh, yeah. They try to tell me I’m going to get that and that ain’t happening. You can count me out!

Ann Arnold-Ogden: But no, this is really… Make it fit and make it, make it match the category.

Carney Porter: Art is something of interpretation, too.

Ann Arnold-Ogden: Yeah, it’s all subjective. And I’m pretty lenient, so.

Carney Porter: Like, you know, if it sounds good, if it fits. But I think so, too. And it’s a great way to recognize everyone and all of that information is going to be on our website. If you’re looking to nominate, we’ll have a link to their website to do so. That’s right.