Chicago Black Excellence Awards Sets Permanent February Date
Honoring the achievements of 2026, CBEA will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2027, at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
The Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago has revealed key enhancements to the Chicago Black Excellence Awards, an annual event dedicated to honoring, celebrating, and promoting Chicago’s premier Black artists and arts organizations. Moving forward, the CBEA will permanently take place every February to align with Black History Month and further distinguish it within Chicago’s cultural awards landscape. Honoring the achievements of 2026, CBEA will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2027, at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
Since its inception in 2001, the CBEA has presented more than 500 awards spanning all major creative disciplines, including theatre, dance, music, film, visual arts, and literary arts. To ensure a rigorous and equitable selection process, the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago utilizes a network of 40 active committee members divided into specialized subcommittees. These committees follow newly defined and formalized guidelines to review local theatre productions, dance concerts, music showcases, visual galleries, and literary events throughout the year. For guidelines and procedures, contact Executive Director, Doc Wheeler, at doc@bacachi.org. The guidelines will also be available soon at bacachi.org.
In tandem with these awards, the Alliance continues to grow the Chicago Black Hall of Fame, established to recognize the lasting legacies of both local icons and nationally renowned Chicago artists.
To date, the Chicago Black Hall of Fame proudly includes:
Dance: Julian Swain, Amaniyea Payne, Joel Hall, Darlene Blackburn, Najwa I
Film: Pemon Rami, Troy O. Pryor
Literary & Visual Arts: Dorian Sylvain, Lerone Bennett, Richard Hunt, Earl Calloway, Andre and Frances Guichard, Angela Jackson, Haki Madhubuti
Music: Herb Kent, Phil Cohran, Dee Alexander, Oscar Brown Jr.
Theatre: Abena Joan Brown, Useni Eugene Perkins, Ernest Perry, Chuck Smith, Runako Jahi, Val Gray Ward, Kemati Porter
Arts Administrators: Amina Dickerson, Masequa Myers-Rami, Carol Adams, Monica Haslip
Radio Personalities: Melody Spann-Cooper, Richard Steele
Museums: Dr. Margaret Burroughs
Get Involved & Request a Review
To learn more about the Chicago Black Excellence Awards, or to request an official committee review for an artist, arts organization, theatre production, dance concert, or special artistic event, email info@bacachi.org. Submissions should include full contact details alongside production or event information.
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