Oregon's Governor's Arts Awards were established in 1977 to recognize individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the cultural life of Oregon. From early brief presentations in the Capitol Rotunda in Salem to multi-media productions celebrating the award recipients in cultural facilities in Portland, Eugene and Newport, the Governor's Arts Awards are an annual celebration of the arts in the state.
| Year | Governor | Recipient | Location | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Ted Kulongoski | Richard Louis Brown | Portland | Collector and Arts Patron |
| Richard Rowland | Astoria | Ceramicist and Educator | ||
| John and Joan (d) Shipley | Portland | Arts Patrons | ||
| James and Ginevra Ralph | Eugene | Philanthropists and Arts Leaders | ||
| Henk Pender | Portland | Artist | ||
| Tom and Chris Neilsen | Salem | Arts Leaders and Volunteers | ||
| The Art Gym, Marylhurst University | Marylhurst | Contemporary arts exhibition and publication | ||
| The Honorable Vera Katz* | Portland | Arts Leadership | ||
| 2003 | Ted Kulongoski | Allen Nause | Portland | artistic director, Artists Repertory Theatre |
| Pamela Hulse Andrews | Bend | arts publisher | ||
| Rep. Betsy Johnson* | Scappoose | Arts & culture advocate | ||
| Sondra Pearlman | Portland | founder and producer, Oregon Children's Theatre | ||
| Pentacle Theatre | Salem | 50th anniversary of community theatre | ||
| Carla Perry | Newport | founder, Writers on the Edge | ||
| Jordan Schnitzer | Portland | philanthropist and cultural leader | ||
| 2002 | John Kitzhaber | Eugene Bennett (d) | Jacksonville | visual artist and leader in advocacy for the arts |
| William Bloodgood | Ashland | Scenic Designer for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival | ||
| Mel Brown | Portland | Jazz musician and community arts leaders | ||
| Kristy Edmunds | Portland | artist and founder, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art | ||
| John (d) and Carol Hampton (d) | Portland | arts patrons and leaders | ||
| Cultural Planning Taskforces | cultural leadership | |||
| 2001 | John Kitzhaber | Portland General Electric and the PGE Enron Foundation | corporate arts supporters | |
| Pat Courtney Gold | Scappoose | native basketweaver | ||
| Sandra Miller | Bend | community arts leader | ||
| Dr Robert B Pamplin Jr | Portland | arts patron and collector | ||
| Dan Pavillard (d) | Eugene | community arts leader and patron | ||
| Salem-Keizer School District Music Programs | exemplary music education | |||
| 1999 | John Kitzhaber | Bank of America | corporate arts supporters | |
| Lorie Baxter | Pendleton | community arts leader | ||
| The Honorable Lenn Hannon* (d) | Ashland | |||
| Roger Hull | Salem | art historian, scholar, professor | ||
| Sally Lawrence | Portland | President, Pacific NW College of Art | ||
| Mel Katz | Portland | sculptor | ||
| 1998 | John Kitzhaber | Northwest Film Center of the Portland Art Museum | ||
| The Honorable Bill Morrisette* | Springfield | Mayor of Springfield | ||
| Tad Savinar | Portland | visual artist and writer | ||
| Mary Dodds Schlick | Parkdale | writer and basketmaker | ||
| Kim Stafford | Portland | poet and director, Northwest Writing Institute | ||
| The Shelk Family | Powell Butte and Prineville | arts patrons | ||
| 1997 | John Kitzhaber | Lawson Inada | Ashland | poet and multi-cultural educator |
| Maynard White Owl Lavadour | Pendleton | Plateau style beadworker and master artist | ||
| Raymond Trayle | Portland | maker of fine art presses | ||
| C Norman (d) and Dolores Winningstad | Newport | arts patrons | ||
| Marjorie Wintermute (d) | FAIA founder, Architects in Schools programs | |||
| 1996 | John Kitzhaber | BOORA Architects | Portland | for design of cultural facilities and arts patronage |
| John Brombaugh | Springfield | organ builder | ||
| CALYX | Corvallis | feminist press | ||
| Eugene Ballet Company | Eugene | dance touring efforts | ||
| Hallie Brown Ford (d) | Salem | arts patronage and support of arts scholarship funds | ||
| Alvin Josephy (d) | Joseph | historian and writer | ||
| Tony Van Vliet* | Corvallis | former legislator and percent for art advocate | ||
| 1995 | John Kitzhaber | Frank Boyden | Otis | ceramist/sculptor/printmaker |
| Chamber Music Northwest | Portland | chamber music programs | ||
| Nancy Lindburg | Salem | visual artist and former public administrator | ||
| ODS Health Plans | Portland | corporate arts supporter | ||
| Terence O'Donnell (d) | Portland | writer and historian | ||
| Don Davis | Newport | former city manager and arts advocate | ||
| 1994 | Barbara Roberts | Bonnie Merrill | Oregon City | choreographer |
| James Lavadour | Pendleton | painter, founder, Crow's Shadow Institute | ||
| Children's Education Theatre | Salem | outstanding theater programs for youth | ||
| Mike Lindberg | Portland | Portland City Commissioner and arts advocate | ||
| 1993 | Barbara Roberts | Obo Addy (d) | Portland | African drummer and performer |
| Betty LaDuke | Ashland | painter/techer/writer, Southern Oregon State College | ||
| William "Bill" Patton (d) | Ashland | artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival | ||
| John Frohnmayer | Corvallis | former chair, National Endowment for the Arts | ||
| Northwest Review | Eugene | literary magazine | ||
| Oregon School of Arts & Crafts | Portland | craft leadership and advocacy | ||
| 1992 | Barbara Roberts | William Jamison (d) | Portland | gallery owner, arts advocate |
| William (d) and Florence Schneider (d) | Ashland | Schneider Art Museum patrons | ||
| Meyer Memorial Trust | Portland | arts patronage | ||
| Tomas Svoboda | Portland | composer | ||
| George Johanson | Portland | painter, printmaker | ||
| Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center | Portland | community arts programs | ||
| 1991 | Barbara Roberts | OCRI Foundation | LaGrande | arts patrons |
| Norman Leyden | Portland | associate conductor, Oregon Symphony | ||
| Jerry Turner | Ashland | artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival | ||
| Manuel Izquierdo (d) | Portland | sculptor and art teacher | ||
| Neil Goldschmidt | Portland | advocacy for the arts | ||
| 1990 | Neil Goldschmidt | Lillian Pitt | Portland | Native American artists and maskmaker |
| Selina Ottum (d) | Portland | arts administrator, Metropolitan Arts Commission | ||
| Leonard Duboff | Portland | Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts | ||
| Oregon Business Committee for the Arts | Portland | arts leadership and advocacy | ||
| Mason Williams | Eugene | musician | ||
| Barry Lopez | Seal Rock | writer | ||
| 1989 | Neil Goldschmidt | James DePriest | Portland | music director and conductor, Oregon Symphony |
| Sally Haley (d) | Portland | painter | ||
| Richard L Hay | Ashland | set and costume designer | ||
| Mt Hood Festival of Jazz | Gresham | arts development and festival promotion | ||
| John Alvord | Eugene | arts patron | ||
| US West Communications | corporate arts supporters | |||
| 1988 | Neil Goldschmidt | Amy Bedford (d) | Pendleton | newspaper editor, community leader and arts patron |
| Art In Public Places | Bend | |||
| Dr Francis Newton | Portland | director of the Portland Art Museum | ||
| LeRoy Setziol (d) | Sheridan | wood sculptor | ||
| United States National Bank | Portland | arts supporter | ||
| 1987 | Neil Goldschmidt | Ken Kesey (d) | Pleasant Hill | fiction writer |
| Lee Kelly | Oregon City | sculptor | ||
| Arlene Schnitzer | Portland | arts patron | ||
| Friends of Timberline | Mt. Hood | public art and preservation | ||
| 1986 | Victor Atiyeh | Doris Bounds (d) | Hermiston | banker and collector of Native American materials |
| Ray Atkeson | Portland | photographer | ||
| Kaiser Permanente, Healthcare Providers | corporate arts supporters | |||
| Pietro Belluschi (d) | Portland | architect | ||
| Tom Hardy | Portland | sculptor | ||
| 1985 | Victor Atiyeh | Virginia Haseltine (d) | arts patron and collector of Northwest art | |
| Portland Center for the Visual Arts | Portland | arts programs and advocacy | ||
| Carl and Hilda Morris | Portland | Carl - painter, Hilda - sculptor | ||
| Dunbar (d) and Jane (d) Carpenter | Medford | arts patrons | ||
| 1984 | Victor Atiyeh | Oregon Coast Council for the Arts | Newport | arts leadership |
| Jacob Avshalomov & Portland Youth Philharmonic | Portland | Mr Avshalomov - music director and composer | ||
| Edith Feldenheimer (d) | arts patron | |||
| Dr Gordon Gilkey (d) | printmaker, curator and teacher | |||
| 1983 | Victor Atiyeh | John and Betty Gray | arts patrons | |
| Will Vinton Studios | Portland | animators and developers of Claymation | ||
| Bridget McCarthy | Portland | crafts advocate and cultural tourism consultant | ||
| Citizens of Eugene | Eugene | for the development of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts | ||
| 1982 | Victor Atiyeh | Salem Art Association | Salem | arts programming |
| Monford Orloff (d) | Portland | arts patron and supporter | ||
| Rachael Griffin (d) | curator of Portland Art Museum and arts activist | |||
| William Stafford (d) | Portland | Oregon's first Poet Laureate | ||
| 1981 | Victor Atiyeh | Eugene Summer Festival of Music | (precursor of the Oregon Bach Festival) | |
| Howard (d) and Jean Vollum (d) | Portland | supporters of Oregon School of Arts and Crafts | ||
| Jan Zach (d) | Eugene | sculptor | ||
| Ursula LeGuin | Portland | science fiction writer | ||
| 1980 | Victor Atiyeh | LaVerne Krause (d) | Eugene | painter/printmaker |
| Hope Pressman | Eugene | arts patron | ||
| Contemporary Crafts Association | Portland | crafts programming | ||
| Brooks-Scanlon, Inc | corporate support for the arts | |||
| 1979 | Victor Atiyeh | Young Audiences of Oregon | arts education programs | |
| Margery Hoffman Smith (d) | Portland | interior designer of Timberline Lodge | ||
| Michele Russo (d) | Portland | painter and arts activist | ||
| 1978 | Robert Straub | Louis Bunce (d) | Portland | WPA painter |
| Maribeth Collins | Portland | arts patron | ||
| Jefferson High School Arts Program | Portland | arts education | ||
| Oregon Symphony Association | artistic excellence | |||
| Peter Britt Festivals | Jacksonville | |||
| Lloyd Reynolds | Portland | Reed College Professor, humanist and calligrapher | ||
| 1977 | Robert Straub | Portland Museum School | ||
| Hilmar Grondahl | longtime music critic at The Oregonian | |||
| Betty Feves (d) | Pendleton | ceramicist, violinist | ||
| Angus Bowmer & Oregon Shakespeare Festival | Ashland | |||
| Arts-in-Oregon Council | ||||
| Albany Creative Arts Guild |