2016 Mayor's Arts Awards Recipients Announced
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Twenty-four individuals, one artist collective and one business are the recipients of the 2016 Mayor’s Arts Awards for having made significant contributions to creative life in the city of Vancouver.
The Awards will be presented in a public ceremony on Monday, October 3, 2016 at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.
Arts category Honourees represent a wide variety of disciplines, from performing and visual arts to literary and culinary arts. Honours are also awarded in the Support of the Arts categories of Volunteerism, Business Support, Philanthropy, and Arts Board Member of the Year. A special Award is also issued for Lifetime Achievement.
Each Honouree in the studio and performing arts categories is invited to select an Emerging Artist in their discipline who demonstrates the promise of the next generation.
Arts category Honourees, Emerging Artists, and the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient each receives a $3,000 cash prize. Those recognized in the Support of the Arts categories receive a non-cash prize.
The 2016 Mayor’s Arts Awards recipients (Emerging Artists indicated in parentheses) are:
STUDIO ARTS
Craft and Design
Sharon Kallis (Rebecca Graham)
Culinary Arts
Meeru Dhalwala (Arka Lwin)
Film and New Media
Lorna Boschman (Sebnem Ozpeta)
Literary Arts
Betsy Warland (Jónína Kirton)
Visual Arts
Dana Claxton (Carlos Colín)
Public Art
Instant Coffee (Krista Belle Stewart)
Community Engaged Art
Jay Hamburger (Jerilynn Webster, aka JB the First Lady)
PERFORMING ARTS
Dance
Emily Molnar (Lexi Vajda)
Music
Jocelyn Morlock (Marina Hasselberg)
Theatre
Jan Hodgson (Ruth Bruhn)
Lifetime Achievement
Gordon Smith
SUPPORT OF THE ARTS
Philanthropy
Hassan and Nezhat Khosrowshahi
Volunteerism
Mary Jane Morita
Business Support of the Arts
The Georgia Straight
Arts Board Member of the Year
Amy Nugent
Artist Susan Point will be presented with the Civic Merit Award at the Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony. The Civic Merit Award recognizes individuals for outstanding achievement in a particular field of endeavour in sports, science, arts, or culture within the city and the province, or in recognition of a specific service.
The winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award will also be announced at the ceremony. Since 1989, the Book Award has recognized works which demonstrate excellence and contribute to an appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s history, unique character, or achievements of its residents. The winner of the Book Award will receive a $3,000 cash prize.
The ceremony will also recognize the City’s Poet Laureate, Artist Live-Work Studio Award recipients, and the community members who contributed to the jury process.
The Mayor's Arts Awards juries are coordinated by the Alliance for Arts + Culture. Honourees in the studio and performing arts categories are chosen by juries of their peers, consisting of previous Mayor's Arts Awards recipients. Honourees for Business Support, Philanthropy, and Volunteerism are chosen by juries consisting of business and cultural community members active in those fields.
The Arts Board Member of the Year Award is an initiative of the Society to Bridge Arts and Community. The Society’s board of directors establishes juries who select this category’s honouree, as well as the Lifetime Achievement honouree.
The selection in each Award category is made from nominations by individual jurors and solicited from the community at large.
