Louis Corrigan photo courtesy the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center

Burning, breaking news: The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (ACAC) announced this afternoon that the winner of the second annual Nexus Award is none other than Louis Corrigan, founder of Flux Projects and Possible Futures. Corrigan stated in a recent, extended BURNAWAY interview by Evan Levy that all the recent praise directed his way amounts to “just an index of our collective desire for action.” In his reaction to receiving the Nexus Award, Corrigan further expressed his wish that the good will be spread around and not merely end with one beneficiary:

“I’m extremely honored to receive the Nexus Award, especially with so many worthy candidates in Atlanta’s arts community. I see what I’ve been doing as an expression of tremendous confidence in that community. So I feel like it’s the community itself that’s being celebrated with this award.”

ACAC’s press release explains more about the selection process:

“In December 2010, ACAC put out a public call for nominations. The names of many worthy individuals were put forward representing a cross section of the contemporary visual arts community including artists, patrons, educators, curators and gallery owners. The nominees were narrowed down to the top three, which were voted on by the executive committee of the Board of Directors. Louis Corrigan was the unanimous choice of the committee.

The Nexus Award criteria recognize individuals who:

Raise awareness and set standards of excellence for Atlanta artists, galleries, institutions or collections;
Help establish or further dialogue about contemporary Atlanta art and visual culture;
Encourage collaboration among and across disciplines artistic or otherwise;
Play an advocacy role or serves as a cultural ambassador for the arts in Atlanta or beyond;
Provide leadership or support to the visual arts in Atlanta or beyond;
Advance scholarship, professional criticism, artistic practice or understanding about contemporary visual art and culture;
Demonstrate a history of commitment and excellence to the visual arts in Atlanta.”

And more about the award recipient:

“Louis Corrigan is an Atlanta native, born in 1965. He received his BA in English and creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987. He did graduate studies in American literature in the PhD program at Emory University, where he also served as an instructor. From 1996 to 1999, he was a senior writer for the Motley Fool financial website. Since then, he has worked for San Francisco-based investment firms.

In 2009, Corrigan founded Flux Projects, a non-profit organization that supports artists in creating innovative temporary public art throughout Atlanta year-round. In 2010, he launched Possible Futures, a non-profit foundation that nurtures Atlanta’s creative culture and educates the public through the support and presentation of artists, writers and performers. He also serves on the boards of Art Papers, Atlanta Celebrates Photography, Artadia and ArtsCriticATL.”

Watch the Nexus Award page of ACAC’s website for more info. The awards ceremony will be held on May 4.

(Disclosure: Possible Futures provided a significant grant to this publication in September of 2010. However, the grant was given unconditionally and with the understanding that, among other reasons, “meaningful arts criticism is vital in that it challenges artists to do their best work.”)