Arts Awards

Arts Awards Recipients

The City Hamilton is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 City of Hamilton Arts Awards, presented Thursday, June 13 at Theatre Aquarius Dofasco Centre for the Arts.

The awards ceremony and reception celebrated Hamilton's dynamic arts community, with art installations, live performances, catering from across Hamilton’s cultural communities, and the announcement of 19 Award recipients.

The 2019 Recipients of the Arts Awards

Awards winners in the categories of...

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Image of Bob Doidge

Bob Doidge

www.bobdoidge.com
Proud Gordon Lightfoot Producer and owner of Grant Avenue Studio, music has taken Bob everywhere from the North Pole to Easter Island. Working with artists such as U2, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, Rita MacNeil, Caroline Wiles, Red Green Show and Bruce Cockburn resulting in two gold and a triple-platinum album.

ARTS INNOVATION AWARD

Image of Briana Palmer

Briana Palmer

Briana Palmer’s teaching, research and practice are deeply rooted in the western traditions of print media. Her approach is to consider the historical impact of the printing press, with regards to material process and the health of our society; to challenge social ideologies, perception and experience of conventional knowledge.

SHIRLEY ELFORD EMERGING ARTIST PRIZE IN MUSIC

Presented by the Shirley Elford Fund at the Hamilton Community Foundation

Image of Aaron Hutchinson

Aaron Hutchinson

aaronhutchinson.ca
Aaron Hutchinson is a producer, engineer, musician and sound artist. They make music as Hutchie, with Eschaton, Haolin Munk and many other ensembles. Aaron has taken their music to the United States, Europe and around Canada. They are a founding member of Fort Rose, the Hamilton Audio Visual Node and HAVNrecords.

ARTS EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ARTS AWARD

Image of Sue Crowe Connolly

Sue Crowe Connolly

Sue Crowe Connolly teaches functional vocal training and community music facilitation. She works with people to claim their own voice, and trains vocal teachers and choral leaders. She founded Hamilton Sings! Community Choir, a non-audition choir for adults and older youth. She is deeply honoured by this nomination.

Emerging Artist
Hanna Bech Mathieson
Image of Hannah Bech Mathieson

ARTS MANAGEMENT AWARD

Image of Stephen Near

Stephen Near

Stephen Near is an established writer, educator, and arts administrator based in Hamilton. For eight years, he was Program Director and Operations Officer with the Hamilton Arts Council where he assisted in such programming as the Hamilton Literary Awards, Arts Week, and the arts council’s annual Culture Guide.

Emerging Artist
Jo Johnson
Image of Jo Johnson

FINE CRAFT AWARD

Image of Jay Jillard

Jay Jillard

www.jillardguitars.com
For the last decade, Jillard Guitars has found success on the worldwide stage through the creation of high quality custom guitars, while also becoming a pillar in the Hamilton music community. This year Jay spearheads the '99 James' guitar project, in support of Hamilton charity, ‘An Instrument For Every Child’.

Emerging Artist
Jonny Aplin
Image of Jonny Aplin

MEDIA ARTS AWARD

Image of Taien Ng-Chan

Taien Ng-Chan

www.soyfishmedia.com
Taien Ng-Chan makes maps, videos, websites, podcasts and radio plays, artist book-works, and social events. She has written and produced for stage, screen, and CBC radio; her media works have been shown across Canada and internationally. She is a founding member of the artist-research collective Hamilton Perambulatory Unit.

Emerging Artist
Sonali Menezes
Image of Sonali Menezes

MUSIC AWARD

Image of Amy King

Amy King

www.amykingrecording.com
Amy has been a leading Music Producer and Recording Engineer at the legendary Grant Avenue Studio since 2002. She has proven to be essential, not only to the success of the many artists who use her skills exclusively, but also to the continued success of Grant Avenue Studio.

Emerging Artist
Alex Whorms
Image of Alex Whorms

THEATRE AWARD

Image of Trevor Copp

Trevor Copp

www.totteringbiped.ca
Trevor is a physical theatre creator. As Artistic Director of Tottering Biped Theatre, he has developed and toured original theatre pieces internationally, created an annual outdoor Shakespeare production with the Royal Botanical Gardens, and developed a gender- neutral system of partner dancing. His work is known for its unique physicality combining theatre with mime, contact improvisation, and gusto. 

Emerging Artist
Jesse Horvath
Image of Jesse Horvath

VISUAL ARTS AWARD

Image of Carmela Laganse

Carmela Laganse

www.carmelalaganse.com
Carmela Laganse creates interactive, portable, and modular environments in a variety of media that critically reflect on displacement, colonization, immigration and migration. Her work curiously unpacks the affects of these experiences and examines how they contribute to material culture as well as her own identity, quality of life and her ongoing education. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Laganse now resides in Hamilton with her family and teaches at the School of the Arts at McMaster University. 

Emerging Artist
Kiera Boult
Image of Kiera Boult

DANCE AND PERFORMING ARTS AWARD

Image of Eshe

Eshe

www.hamiltonbellydance.com
Award-winning bellydancer, Eshe is the owner of Hamilton's Mahasti –The Bellydance Emporium where she hosts classes, shows, workshops, competitions and more. Born and raised in Hamilton, she’s trained extensively in Canada, Japan, Egypt, and Turkey and has performed internationally in America, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Emerging Artist
Angela Josephine
Image of Angela Josephine

Arts Community Leadership Awards:

  • A nomination package is submitted for each Lifetime Achievement Award and Arts Innovation Award nominee. 
  • A jury for each award, comprised of artists and arts professionals, reviews the nomination packages and determines who will receive the award based on each nominee’s work, career, exemplary accomplishments in their field and/or significant contribution to the advancement of the arts in Hamilton.

Arts Community Leadership Awards:

  • A nomination package is submitted for each Lifetime Achievement Award and Arts Innovation Award nominee. 
  • A jury for each award, comprised of artists and arts professionals, reviews the nomination packages and determines who will receive the award based on each nominee’s work, career, exemplary accomplishments in their field and/or significant contribution to the advancement of the arts in Hamilton.

Established Artist Award:

  • A nomination package is submitted for each Established Artist nominee
  • A jury of category-specific arts professionals reviews the Established Artist nomination packages and determines who will receive the award based on each nominee’s work, career, and reception by the arts community at large.

Emerging:

  • Each Established Artist nominates an Emerging Artist worthy of recognition in their award category.
  • If the Established Artist is awarded, their Emerging Artist is awarded too! By winning together, professional artistic relationships can grow and thrive in the community between artists at different points in their careers.

Connect with us in person

Jen Anisef
Phone: 905-546-2424 ext. 7612
Email: [email protected]
Office address: Lister Building, 28 James St. North, 2nd Floor
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