Visit the intersection of Ninth St. and Maple St. in Noblesville, and you’ll (literally) stumble upon the art of sophomore Noah Laramore.

In May, he coordinated the design and creation of the public art crosswalks at that intersection. One design is a colorful series of footprints. The second (right) looks like a playful spin on the yellow brick road.

It is in part due to his work on these crosswalks, and in part due to his creativity in Noblesville’s Comic Book in a Day program, that Noah was named Emerging Artist of the Year at the Nickel Plate Arts Awards on Saturday, Sept. 15.

The Emerging Artist of the Year Award goes to a student in high school or college, or someone who has graduated from an arts program within the last to years who is striving to become a professional artist, musician or performer in the Nickel Plate Arts region. The person must be a resident of Noblesville, Fishers, Cicero, Arcadia, Atlanta, or Tipton. This young person demonstrates not only incredible artistic talent, but also leadership, vision and business savvy. This person has outstanding potential to shape and influence the future of our arts community, as well as to achieve financial success in his or her artistic field. He or she has embraced the idea that you can, in fact, make a living in the arts, and he or she is boldly going forward with that goal, and spreading joy for art with all those he or she encounters.

This is Noah’s second Nickel Plate Art Award; in 2016, he was an award recipient for creativity in the Comic Book in a Day program.

Congratulations to Noah!