Winner: Corin Nemec
Finalists: Patrick Wilson, Arianna Williams

Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Morean Arts Center, FloridaRAMA Gallery

Winner: Trashy Treasures at Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Pride and Passion at Tampa Museum of Art, Suenos at The Dalí Museum

Who woulda thunk? A working professional artist at the head of an arts alliance! For its new executive director, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance couldn’t have made a better choice than Helen French. An exquisite dancer, she had already proven her leadership bona fides as co-founder of the annual Beacon dance series at Palladium Theater and as the Alliance board chair. Now she brings her artistic vision, her experience in the nonprofit trenches, and her glowing charisma to the heart of St. Pete’s busy but oft-beleaguered arts scene. Brava! stpeteartsalliance.org—David Warner

Winner: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts
Finalists: Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Creative Pinellas

Few performers can take a Broadway warhorse and make it sound brand new, but Matthew McGee does just that with “Some People” from "Gypsy." Where Merman belted, Lansbury crackled, and McDonald soared, McGee refracts the anthem through his own prism—funny, furious, and defiantly alive. He strips away decades of diva baggage and lets us hear the song as freshly as if Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim had written it yesterday. It’s a thrilling reminder that the Bay Area’s most beloved chameleon doesn’t just perform—he reinvents. freefalltheatre.com—Jon Palmer Claridge

Winner: MiniM
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, Whale Feral

Winner: Crossfire Creek
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, The Applebutter Express