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Winnipeg Arts Council Arts Awards Nominees Announced

The Winnipeg Arts Council Arts Awards will be presented at the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts, taking place Thursday, June 9th at the Fairmont Winnipeg. For tickets and further information, please visit our website here .

Five awards recognize excellence and creativity in, and contribution to the arts: the arts champion award; the on the rise award; the making a mark award; the making a difference award; and the making a difference for outstanding volunteer award.

arts champion award honours an individual or business that has demonstrated sustained support to the arts in Winnipeg. The award is a unique work of art.

on the rise award recognizes the demonstrated promise of an emerging professional artist in any discipline. The award is a cash prize of $2,500.

making a mark award applauds professional artist in mid-career, in any discipline, who is receiving critical recognition for excellence in their art practice in Winnipeg and beyond. The award is a cash prize of $2,500.

making a difference award celebrates the contribution of an artist or arts administrator to the growth and development of the arts in Winnipeg. The award is a cash prize of $2,500.

special award — making a difference for outstanding volunteer This year, for the first time the Winnipeg Arts Council is giving a special award to recognize the contribution of an outstanding volunteer in the arts sector. After this year, the award will be open to nominations. The award is $1,000 that the winner will designate to the arts organization of his or her choice.

arts champion

Bonnie and John Buhler | Nominated by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
Bonnie and John Buhler have consistently demonstrated leadership in supporting cultural ventures throughout the province using a variety of means — donations to capital campaigns, donations to annual operations, and hosting special events.

Wanda Koop | Nominated by Art City
Throughout her career, Wanda Koop has contributed her time and art work towards the development and sustainability of the Winnipeg arts community. Wanda Koop founded Art City in 1998.

Great-West Life and Investors Group Nominated by the Winnipeg Arts Council Board Nominations Committee
For decades, Great-West Life and Investors Group, sister companies within the Power Financial Corporation family, have either separately or together, demonstrated corporate leadership through their sustained commitment to the arts in Winnipeg.

Dr. Robert and Mrs. Angela Ross
Nominated by the Winnipeg Arts Council Board Nominations Committee
For years Dr. Robert and Mrs. Angela Ross have been quiet champions of the arts, donating to many of Winnipeg’s most renowned arts institutions, and helping to support the cultivation of the arts and artists in our city.

on the rise

Arlo Baskier-Nabess | Nominated by Stephanie Ballard
Arlo has a unique and powerful voice through dance. As a graduate of the School of Contemporary Dancers Professional Program, she has a prolific emerging artist’s career as a soloist in Stephanie Ballard’s Christmas Carol, Homeagain and International Dance Day celebrations; as a participant in the first Indigenous Choreographic Summit (Banff Centre); as a member of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, touring Canada, Japan, the United States and Australia, and as a founding member of Drive Dance Company.

Benjamin Clarkson | Nominated by George Toles
Ben Clarkson is a young artist and illustrator whose work has appeared across Canada in galleries and in such publications as the Literary Review of Canada and the Globe and Mail. His drawings are often dark, humorous and obsessively rendered.

Michael Dudeck | Nominated by the Winnipeg Art Gallery
In the last three years, Michael Dudeck has garnered significant international attention for his ten-year-long performance project which explores an invented prehistory and creation story of an ancient queer religion.

Amber Epp | Nominated by Rodrigo Munoz
Amber Epp’s upbeat, rhythmic music is undeniably infectious and swinging. The Winnipeg arts community has nurtured and moulded this joyful artist into a force to be reckoned with.

Ming Hon | Nominated by Plug In ICA
Ming Hon is an emerging choreographer, dancer/performance artist, who has achievements in solo performance works and collaborations with an incredible roster of national and internationally established artists, crossing boundaries between dance and visual art.

Andrew Milne | Nominated by Video Pool Media Arts Centre
Andrew Milne’s work as a multimedia artist working in performance, film, sound, sculpture and electronics is highly regarded by his peers and deserving of recognition.

Caroline Monnet | Nominated by Kevin Lee Burton
Caroline Monnet is a multi-media artist who has established herself as a strong voice to be recognized for her tenacity in exploring aboriginality within the Winnipeg art scene.

Kristin Nelson | Nominated by aceartinc.
Nelson is an irresistible provocateur, whose wit, compassion, and sense of justice informs traditional and non-traditional art-making. She utilizes scale and exquisite detail to inspire dialogue about identity, gender, and urban development.

Caroline Nicolas | Nominated by Jane Petroni
Caroline is an outstanding cellist from Winnipeg, who has been recognized in the music world from Asia and Europe to the United States and Canada. Her musical career is destined for greatness.

Demetra Penner | Nominated by Mike Petkau Falk
Demetra is an inspired and multi-talented artist growing into a powerful professional presenter of unique music. With depth, character and experience her music and visual art continue to impress.

Miriam Rudolph | Nominated by Manitoba Printmakers Association
Rudolph’s personal and intimate narratives of Winnipeg capture the essence of our city and our vision of “a Winnipeg where community life flourishes.”

Adam Smoluk | Nominated by Neila Benson
Adam Smoluk has an extensive background as an award-winning filmmaker and has many years of service in the advocacy and promotion of Manitoba’s growing arts community.

Andrew Lennard Taylor–Bickford | Nominated by Alicia Doan
Andrew Lennard Taylor Bickford creates wearable art by integrating his love of oil painting with fashion design for entertainers and individuals around the world.

making a mark

5468796 Architecture | Nominated by David Penner
5468796 Architecture harnesses collective creativity around a single table to question the frontiers of architecture, material and space. Their work focuses upon exploring artistic means to better the built environment.

Owen Clark | Nominated by Jeff Kula
Owen Clark has exceeded the boundaries of conventional artistic practice through his contributions to a wide variety of arts disciplines, while celebrating the spirit of Winnipeg and Manitoba.

Clint Enns | Nominated by Video Pool Media Arts Centre
Clint Enns’ work as an educator, critical writer and researcher, curator and media artist is exemplary in its enthusiasm, dedication and creativity.

Danishka Esterhazy | Nominated by Wendy Sawatzky
Celebrated for her visually stunning and female-driven films, Danishka Esterhazy has delighted audiences across Canada and around the world with her haunting stories about Winnipeg and Manitoba.

Ann Hodges | Nominated by Manitoba Theatre Centre
Ann Hodges directs theatre and opera from Halifax to Victoria, and writes opera libretti for companies across the country, bringing classic and contemporary opera to thousands of young people.

Brent Lott | Nominated by Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers
Under the leadership of Brent Lott as the Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, the company has achieved significant recognition, primarily due to Lott’s strong programming, dedicated mentorship and exceptional choreography.

John Racaru | Nominated by Marcien Ferland
John Racaru is a person who is deeply committed to his art as a performer, educator and concert impresario. He has made an important contribution to the musical life of our community.

Eva Stubbs | Nominated by the Winnipeg Art Gallery
For over 50 years, Eva Stubbs has captivated audiences with sculptures and drawings that explore historical memory, the human desire for intimacy, and our awareness of the precariousness of existence.

making a difference

Zaz Bajon | Nominated by Manitoba Theatre Centre
Zaz Bajon came to Winnipeg to assume the duties of General Manager at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Through his work and volunteerism he sets the stage for the advancement of theatre and the development of artists in Winnipeg and the region. Zaz has truly made a difference.

Shawna Dempsey and Lori Millan | Nominated by aceartinc.
Dempsey and Millan have created one of the most important and critically engaged bodies of work in Canada. Their outstanding and prolific output challenges conventions in the interests of justice for all.

J. Roger Léveille | Nominated by Les Editions du Blé
J. Roger Léveille est possiblement le plus important écrivain francophone de Winnipeg depuis Gabrielle Roy. L’oeuvre innovatrice et étendue de l’auteur et sa promotion des arts a grandement contribué à l’environnement culturel de Winnipeg et au paysage littéraire canadien.
J. Roger Léveille is Winnipeg’s preeminent francophone writer after Gabrielle Roy. His work is innovative, extensive and critically acclaimed. His promotion of francophone arts has made a difference in Winnipeg’s cultural environment and the Canadian literary landscape.

Ernest Mayer | Nominated by Winnipeg Art Gallery
Ernest Mayer’s distinguished 40-year career as photographer at the Winnipeg Art Gallery has involved close to 200 publications, many of which have promoted, documented and disseminated Winnipeg art and artists globally.

Maurice Mireau | Nominated by Jonathan Ball
Maurice Mierau stands as a shining example of how to develop as an artist without withdrawing from the community. Maurice promotes Winnipeg artists nationally while developing himself artistically.

Diane Whitehouse | Nominated by Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art
Diane Whitehouse was nominated for this award because of her dedication to teaching, her unstinting community work, and especially her vision and labour in founding MAWA, resulting in the advancement and support of women artists.

special award — making a difference for outstanding volunteer award

Jean Giguère | Nominated by the Winnipeg Arts Council Board Nominations Committee
For many years, Jean Giguère has been one of Winnipeg’s most dedicated and versatile cultural advocates. The Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Writers’ Trust, the Writers Festival, the United Way, Culture Days and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights have all benefited from Jean’s tireless work on behalf of the arts and the people of Winnipeg. Having served as a fundraiser, Director, advisor, chair, and cabinet member for so many important institutions, it comes as no surprise that Jean is the recipient of several awards already, including Lescarbot Award from the Canadian Government for contribution to the arts, Leadership Award from the United Way of Winnipeg, and a Service Award from Manitoba Riding for the Disabled. It is with great pleasure that the Winnipeg Arts Council bestows the first Making A Difference Award for Outstanding Volunteer on Jean Giguère, an individual who proves that one person can make a significant impact on the quality of life for a whole city.

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