The Academy Awards are given annually by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences to honor the artistic and technical merit in the film
industry. The awards are presented for
24 categories at a live televised ceremony that is usually held in February or March
following the relevant calendar year and six weeks after the announcement of
the nominees. Attracting billions of
viewers in the United States and throughout the world, it is the world’s
longest running televised awards show. The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary
organization, had a voting membership of over 7,000 in 2018. Since the awards were first presented in
1929, a total of 3,096 awards have been presented with the culmination of the 91st
ceremony.
The Academy Awards presentation is an elaborate
extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the
creations of the most prominent fashion designers of the day. The various
category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called
the "Academy Award of Merit". The
statuette or trophy depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style holding a crusader’s
sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes represent the original
branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians. The Academy officially adopted the name
"Oscar" for the trophies in 1939.
This year’s 92nd Academy Awards presentation will
be held on February 9, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. CST.
Nominations were announced on January 13, 2020. For more information about the history of the
Academy Awards (Oscars) or this year’s nominees, please go to https://www.oscars.org/oscars.
Come to the Al Harris Library and see our display of past Oscar
winning videos! You can check them out!
