On May 15th, the Ottawa Arts Council announced the recipients of its highly-anticipated Arts Awards at the Ottawa Little Theatre.
Photo: Maryn Devine.
Each year, the Ottawa Arts Council places a call out to the greater arts community to secure nominations for the seven awards it distributes: the Victor Tolgesy Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of residents who have contributed substantially to enriching cultural life in our city; the Peter Honeywell Mid-Career Artist Award, recognizing and encouraging the achievements of Ottawa artists of all disciplines who have evolved beyond the emerging stage in their career to become recognized professional working artists contributing to the community; the Emerging IBPOC Artist Award, which recognizes the achievements of artists of all disciplines from Ottawa’s IBPoC (Indigenous, Black, and Persons of Colour) community who are in the early stages of their career in the arts and are working towards becoming recognized professional artists; the Project X Photography Award, designed to recognize the merits of a publicly presented photographic project by an Ottawa-based artist; and, the Community Arts Educator Award, which recognizes excellence in community arts education and the accomplishments of artists who provide unique and creative learning experiences that inspire future generations and community art projects.
Project-based awards include the Corel Endowment for the Arts Award, a future-oriented award that encourages evolution, innovation, creativity, and excellence of artists working on new initiatives in all art disciplines in Ottawa; and the Young Artist Award, which is a mentorship-driven award established to support young Ottawa artists 14–17 years old.
Nominations were evaluated by a peer assessment group composed of arts leaders in the community representing different artistic disciplines.
The 2023 Arts Awards recipients are:
Victor Tolgesy Award
Tam-Ca Vo-Van (discipline: multidisciplinary)
Victor Tolgesy Award recipient Tam-Ca Vo-Van. Photo: Maryn Devine.
Peter Honeywell Mid-Career Artist Award
Winner: Marisa Gallemit (discipline: visual/multidisciplinary)
Finalist: Christos Pantieras (discipline: visual/multidisciplinary)
Finalist: Mishka Lavigne (discipline: literary/theatre)
Peter Honeywell Mid-Career Artist Award finalists (middle: winner Marisa Gallemit). Photo: Maryn Devine.
Emerging IBPOC Artist Award
Winner: Velvet Wells (discipline: theatre)
Finalist: Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman (discipline: visual arts)
Finalist: Silvie Cheng (discipline: music)
Emerging IBPOC Artist Award finalists (second from left: winner Velvet Wells). Photo: Maryn Devine.
Project X Photography Award
Winner: Karina Kraenzle (discipline: photography)
Finalist: AM Dumouchel (discipline: photography)
Finalist: Joy Kardish (discipline: photography)
Project X Photography Award finalists, sponsors, and partners (second from left: winner Karina Kraenzle). Photo: Maryn Devine.
Community Arts Educator Award
Winner: Jesse Stewart (discipline: music)
Community Arts Educator Award recipient Jesse Stewart (second from right). Photo: Maryn Devine.
Corel Endowment for the Arts Award
Winner: Speaking Vibrations (discipline: performance/multidisciplinary)
Speaking Vibrations, laureates of the Corel Endowmend Fund for the Arts Award. Photo: Maryn Devine.
Young Artist Award
Winner: Asha Higginson (discipline: visual arts)
Young Artist Award recipient Asha Higginson (middle). Photo: Maryn Devine.
“Since 1988, the Ottawa Arts Council has awarded more than $400,000 to exceptional artists and to those who have shown outstanding commitment to the arts in the Ottawa community,” said Nicole Milne, Executive Director of Ottawa Arts Council. “This year, along with the generous support of award sponsors and partners, we are collectively celebrating the resurgence of our arts community, and championing the creative visionaries among us.”
Visit the Ottawa Arts Council website for more information on this year’s recipients.
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