Museum of Pop Culture
Founders Awards
The Story
When the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle needed new recognition pieces for their prestigious Founders Award, they came to Bennett Awards with a unique challenge: create awards that would honor music legends while capturing the essence of recorded music history. Since 2007, the MoPOP Founders Award has celebrated artists whose noteworthy contributions continue to nurture the next generation of risk-takers, with past recipients including Alice in Chains, The Doors, Jimmy Page, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Carlos Santana, and other music legends. These weren't just awards; they needed to be artistic statements worthy of a leading-edge nonprofit museum dedicated to contemporary pop culture.
The Design
Bennett Awards created a striking contemporary award featuring the iconic vinyl record graphic: a perfect symbol for honoring artists whose music has become part of recorded history. The design showcases a detailed vinyl record with tonearm against a contrasting background, housed within a sleek rectangular frame that speaks to both classic music heritage and modern museum aesthetics. The clean, minimalist presentation allows the vinyl graphic to take center stage, creating an immediate connection to the medium that revolutionized how the world experiences music.
The Craftsmanship
Each award was fabricated using a combination of steel and aluminum with different finishes, creating the sophisticated contrast between the vinyl record graphic and the surrounding frame. The detailed vinyl record pattern was precisely rendered to capture the authentic grooves and texture that define the classic LP format, while the tonearm detail adds the perfect finishing touch that music industry professionals immediately recognize. The multi-material construction provides substantial weight and premium feel appropriate for recognizing music legends, with careful engineering ensuring the graphic elements remain sharp and visually striking.
The Impact
These awards join an exclusive collection held by music royalty including John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, Crosby Stills & Nash, Buddy Guy, and Robbie Robertson, creating an instant connection to music history when presented to new recipients. The vinyl record design resonates deeply with artists who understand the significance of recorded music as both art form and cultural artifact, while the contemporary presentation reflects MoPOP's mission to celebrate the ongoing evolution of popular culture. Each award serves as a permanent symbol of an artist's contribution to the recorded music legacy, displayed in homes and studios where they inspire continued creativity while connecting recipients to the timeless tradition of artists whose music lives on long after the final note fades.