FANS Tribute to the Arts' 2016 Distinguished Artist Award Recipients Announced

Visual artist and illustrator Lynn Johnston and dancer/choreographer Jennifer Mascall are being honoured by FANS Tribute to the Arts with its 2016 Distinguished Artist Award.

The awards recognize and honour North and West Vancouver artists who have created a substantial, nationally recognized body of work in performing, visual, literary or media arts.

Johnston is best known for her comic strip “For Better or For Worse”, which ran for nearly 30 years. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, and was the first woman to receive a Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonist Society. Johnston was also recognized with a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1994 for her comic's storyline that sensitively depicted the coming-out of a young gay character. 

Mascall is a choreographer, dance teacher, and mentor.  The founding artistic director of Mascall Dance, she has nearly 200 choreographies to her name and has been the recipient of numerous professional awards, most recently the 2015 Isadora Award for Outstanding Contribution to Dance in BC. Mascall has held a seat on the Dance advisory panel for the Canada Council for the Arts and the standing committee of SHAPE, among other juries.

The Fund for the Arts on the North Shore Society (FANS) recognizes the wealth of artistic talent living on Vancouver’s North Shore by honouring local artists who have achieved national and international acclaim in their field. Among past FANS Distinguished Artist Award recipients are Douglas Coupland, Nicola Cavendish, Jay Brazeau, and Bryan Adams.

The event, taking place November 4, 2016 at the Griffin Art Projects gallery space in North Vancouver, will feature live entertainment, an art exhibition and the presentation of career development grants to six local artists.