Awards

2025 BRAVA Awards Include Children’s Book Illustrator Category

The BRAVA Awards from the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) return in 2025. The biennial BRAVA (BIMA Recognizes Achievement in the Visual Arts) honor outstanding contemporary artists, craftspeople, and makers.

Two categories related to the Pacific Northwest book scene are Artist’s Books Artists Award, which recognizes contemporary visual artists and craftspeople working in the genre of Artists’ Books, and 2025 Special Choice Award: Children’s Book Illustrator Award, which supports the work of contemporary visual artists from the Puget Sound region who specialize in children’s book illustration. For the Children’s Book Illustrator Award, an independent jury will consider original illustrations created for books aimed at readers 16 years or younger. This can encompass book covers, interior illustrations, and complete book designs, including but not limited to graphic novels, e-books, interactive books, picture books, chapter books, works of fiction and non-fiction, zines, reference books, artist books, and pop-up books.

BRAVA awardees will receive an unrestricted award of $15,000. In addition to the cash prize, the recipient of each award receives: 

  • Recognition in BIMA media, including website, print and online publications, and social media, and provided a template press release to distribute to their media outlets;
  • Participation in an online or live event featuring the awardees;
  • A short video to be produced about the recipient;
  • Invitation to participate in an Award Ceremony, likely held at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on September 20, 2025
  • Invitation to serve as one of the jurors on the review panel of the next biennial award process.

For complete information on all award categories, including application requirements, visit BIMA’s website at https://www.biartmuseum.org/the-brava-awards/. Applications open in April.

The recipients of the first-ever BRAVA Awards in 2023 were Kamari Bright (Emerging Artist), Julie Chen (Artists’ Books Artist), Julie Paschkis (Children’s Book Illustrator), and Betty Pasco (Native American and First Nations Artist).