May 15, 2008

PREMIER’S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS

The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts recognizes outstanding achievement by Ontario artists and arts organizations.  The awards are open to artists and arts organizations engaged in any professional arts practice, including but not limited to: community arts, crafts, dance, music, opera, theatre, visual and media arts, writing or cultural industries such as book and magazine publishing, digital media, film, television and sound recording.

The Premier’s Awards were inaugurated in February 2007.  Dancer and choreographer Peggy Baker was the first-ever award recipient, receiving a cash prize of $35,000.  Ms. Baker also had the opportunity to select a new or emerging artist in her field to receive a prize of $15,000, and chose up-and-coming choreographer and dancer Yvonne Ng for this distinction.

In its second year, the McGuinty government has expanded the Premier’s Awards to honour excellence in two categories:  by an individual artist and by an arts organization.  The winning artist will receive $35,000 and will select a new or emerging artist to receive a prize of $15,000.  The winning arts organization will be awarded $50,000.  The remaining finalists will each receive $2,000.

ARTIST AWARD

The finalists for the Artist Award are:

Afua Cooper, of Toronto (Literature)

Afua Cooper is an award-winning poet, author, historian, curator, performer, cultural worker and recording artist.  Ms. Cooper has published five books of poetry, including the award-winning Memories Have Tongue and her newest work, Copper Woman.  Her poems have been recorded, translated into several languages and anthologized in national and international publications.  A dynamic dub poet, Ms. Cooper has performed at the Toronto Harbourfront International Reading Series and Diaspora Dialogues.  She is also a respected chronicler of Canada’s Black history.  Her most recent publication, The Hanging of Angélique, is a national bestseller. She is also writing a series of historical novels for young adults.

David Earle, of Guelph (Dance)
David Earle is one of Canada’s most beloved choreographers.  In a distinguished career spanning nearly 50 years, he has created over 130 dance works.  Mr. Earle was a co-founder and artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre, and led the company to acclaim in New York, Europe and Asia.  Among his signature works are Sacra Conversazione, Orpheus and Eurydice, Realm and in collaboration with James Kudelka, Court of Miracles.  Mr. Earle launched Dancetheatre David Earle (DtDE) in 1997 to provide a forum where younger artists could draw inspiration from his work.  He has choreographed 41 new works with DtDE, and in 2001, made a permanent home for the company in Guelph. 

Michael Fortune, of Lakefield (Crafts)
Contemporary furniture master Michael Fortune is renowned for his innovative designs for one-of-a-kind objects in wood, commissioned residential furnishings and limited edition items.  His work has appeared in exhibitions worldwide and in 1993, he became the first woodworker to receive the prestigious Prix Saidye Bronfman, Canada's highest award in the crafts.  Mr. Fortune has consulted in Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico on developing sustainable craft industries.  He has also volunteered his expertise to revitalizing vocational training in secondary schools throughout North America, and has spearheaded a contemporary apprentice program that gives emerging craftspeople opportunities to work alongside established makers.

Ron Noganosh, of Ottawa (Visual Arts)
Ron Noganosh is a highly regarded sculptor and installation artist who transforms everyday items into artworks that are funny, imaginative and thought-provoking.  He is best known for using junk material such as beer caps, auto parts and discarded toys to critique society’s excesses and to address the issues facing contemporary Aboriginal communities.  Mr. Noganosh’s work has been included in numerous important exhibitions in Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. It is found in many private collections in Canada and abroad, as well as in the public collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford and the Indian Art Centre in Ottawa.

Alex Pauk, of Toronto (Music)
Conductor/composer Alex Pauk has taken new music in Canada out of the concert hall and into the community.  He is also a prominent figure in the field of film music scoring, conducting and production.  In 1983, Mr. Pauk founded Toronto's award-winning Esprit Orchestra focusing on contemporary classical music.  His “Toward a Living Art” program with Esprit has provided 1,500 students annually with a range of musical experiences, including “sitting in” with Esprit musicians at rehearsals and performances, composing for Esprit and attending special student concerts and workshops.  Through his innovative programming, recordings, performing art videos and DVDs, Mr. Pauk has been a leader in developing and promoting Canadian music at home and abroad.

Tim Whiten, of Toronto (Visual Arts)
Tim Whiten is an internationally recognized artist whose work investigates the traditional ideas of man as expressed in culture.  He has exhibited his work in major exhibitions of drawing and sculpture throughout North and South America, Mexico and Asia.  Mr. Whiten is represented in many private, corporate and public collections, including Canada's National Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Shell Oil, Imperial Oil and the Toronto Dominion Bank.  Mr. Whiten is a Professor Emeritus in the Visual Arts department at York University, where he taught for 39 years, and received the Dean's Teaching Award from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1999/2000. 

ARTS ORGANIZATION AWARD

The finalists for the Arts Organization Award are:

Coach House Books, of Toronto (Literature – Cultural Industries)
Coach House Books is one of Canada's foremost small presses, publishing innovative fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction of exceptional literary merit. Since its inception in 1965 as Coach House Press, Coach House Books has nurtured the careers of some of Canada's best-known writers, including Michael Ondaatje, bpNichol, Nicole Brossard, Christian Bök, Jonathan Goldstein, Linda Griffiths, Anne Michaels, Michael Redhill and hundreds of others. Its titles have been nominated such prestigious awards as the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Governor General's Award, the Trillium Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Toronto Book Award. Coach House is a living museum of the literary and printing history in Canada, and it is one of only three Canadian publishers to print its books in house.

Guelph Jazz Festival, of Guelph (Music)
The Guelph Jazz Festival is one of Canada’s most influential music festivals.  Since its founding in 1994, it has earned critical acclaim for presenting innovative jazz and creative improvised music in a community setting.  The Festival features a mainstage program showcasing Canadian and international artists, a free downtown jazz tent, an educational colloquium that looks at jazz's influence on society and culture, and a jazz around town series.  Over the years, the Festival has expanded its offerings to include educational community workshops, a Jazz in the Schools Program and the launch of its own recording label IntrepidEar.  The Festival has commissioned and presented three original jazz operas, Passages, Québécité, and In Place of Wishes..

Hot Docs, of Toronto (Media Arts – Cultural Industries)
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival was founded in 1993 to showcase and support the work of Canadian and international documentary filmmakers and to promote excellence in documentary production.  It has become North America's largest documentary festival and an essential international market event for broadcasters and distributors from around the world.  Each year in April, the festival presents more than 100 cutting-edge documentaries from Canada and abroad.  It also offers a monthly screening and discussion series in the fall and winter.  Through its industry programs, the Festival provides a full range of professional development, market and networking opportunities for documentary professionals.

Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, of Toronto (Theatre)
The Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People (LKTYP) is the largest non-profit theatre company for young audiences in Canada.  Founded in 1966 as Young People’s Theatre, LKTYP uses live performance to help children, youth and their families identify with the issues they face today, and provide a platform to address these challenges in an entertaining way.  LKTYP presents new Canadian plays, innovative works and classics from children's literature throughout the season.  A multi-faceted centre for learning through the arts, it offers weekend performances for family audiences, integrated, weekday school programs for students, scheduled workshops for teachers and a year-round Drama School.

Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, of M’Chigeeng (Arts Centre)
The Ojibwe Cultural Foundation was established in 1974 to preserve and promote the rich culture, language and heritage of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Pottawatomi Nations.  Serving 15,000 people from 17 First Nations communities, it conducts and facilitates research, develops educational resources to increase the knowledge and use of the Anishnaabec language and promotes cross-cultural awareness within and between First Nations communities and with non-native communities.  In an area with the highest number of native artists per capita in the world, the Foundation works closely with craftspeople and artists to coordinate the promotion and distribution of locally produced native arts and crafts, art works and performing arts products. 

Réseau Ontario, of Ottawa (Performing Arts)
Réseau Ontario has changed the landscape of the arts, culture and arts education in French-speaking Ontario.  Founded in 1997, it has brought together a network of 22 multidisciplinary and specialized presenters to showcase Francophone culture in communities across Ontario.  In 2007-08, Réseau Ontario presented nearly 500 shows, reaching more than 80,000  people. Through its school program, Salut!, Réseau Ontario works with more than 375 schools to provide 60,000 students with access to the arts and activities with professional artists.  Réseau Ontario also provides professional mentoring for presenters, and organizes Contact Ontariois, an annual marketplace of presenters, producers and artists.

Contacts:
Alicia Johnston, Minister’s Office, (416) 325-1676
Mark Thompson, Communications Branch, (416) 314-3497

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