The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Phoenix Awards.

The 20th annual awards aim to recognize outstanding artistic achievement in the Lawrence community. Nominations will be accepted in 10 categories: Arts Advocate, Arts Administrator, Arts Education, Design Arts, Literary Arts, Musical Arts, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Volunteer in the Arts, and the Phoenix Award for Exceptional Artistic Achievement.

From the nominees in all categories, five overall winners will be chosen. The categories themselves are just for organizing the nominations and don’t factor into the actual award; for instance, multiple winners may be chosen from a single category, and some categories will not produce any winners. A previous winner can be nominated again, albeit in a different category from his or her first award.

In addition, members of the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission may choose not to present all five awards.

This year’s Phoenix Award winners will be honored 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. The ceremony and following reception are both free and open to the public.

Since the inception of the Phoenix Awards in 1996, more than 100 local artists — among them sculptors, photographers, dancers, musicians, educators, writers, administrators and volunteers — have been recognized by their peers and fellow Lawrencians.

Those interested in placing nominations for this year’s awards can find instructions at www.lawrenceks.org. The deadline to submit nominations is 4 p.m. Sept. 1.