The Distinguished Artist Award recognizes artists with deep connections to Alabama who have earned significant national acclaim for their art over an extended period.

Previous awardees include: 

• Jim Nabors - Sylacauga, AL/Honolulu, HI
• William Christenberry - Washington, DC
• Frank Fleming - Birmingham, AL
• Fannie Flagg - Fairhope, AL/Los Angeles, CA
• Albert Murray - New York, NY
• George Lindsey - Jasper, AL/Nashville, TN
• Nall - Troy, AL/Fairhope, AL
• Beth Nielsen Chapman - Montgomery, AL/Nashville, TN
• Rebecca Luker - Birmingham, AL /New York, NY
• Rick Bragg - Piedmont, AL
• Dr. Everett McCorvey - Montgomery, AL/Lexington, KY
• Eddie Floyd - Montgomery, AL (2017)
• Martha Reeves - Eufaula, AL/Detroit, MI (2019)
• David Hood - Muscle Shoals, AL (2022)
• Chester Higgins - New Brockton, AL/Brooklyn, NY (2024)