Arts Awards Recipients

Judith Sandiford and Ron Weihs

Judith Sandiford, artist and theatre designer, and Ronald Weihs, playwright and director, have been creating original theatre and promoting the arts for thirty years. Their projects include Artword Magazine, Artword Theatre, Artword Gallery, Artword Press, and Artword Artbar, a welcoming environment for theatre, music, dance and visual art in Hamilton.

www.artwordtheatre.net

Angela DeMontigny

Angela DeMontigny is an award-winning designer, artist, and entrepreneur of Cree/Métis heritage based in Hamilton, ON. A pioneer of Indigenous fashion for over two decades, her sustainable, luxury fashion collections, lifestyle, Indigenous wellness products and now public art are an example of reclaiming her identity as an Indigenous woman.

angelademontigny.com

Anuja Varghese

Anuja Varghese is a Pushcart-nominated writer and editor based in Hamilton. Her work appears in several literary magazines and anthologies, including Queer Little Nightmares, Hobart, The Fiddlehead, and Plenitude Magazine. Her 2023 debut short story collection, titled Chrysalis, explores South Asian diaspora experience through a feminist, speculative lens.

www.anujavarghese.com

David Collier

David Collier is an established comics artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. His artistic process involves writing and drawing long and short comic narratives. He also keeps volumes of sketchbooks, reflecting life on the City's streets.

www.facebook.com/davidcolliercomicartist

Deepti Gupta

Dancer/choreographer Deepti Gupta is the artistic director of Arzoo Dance Theatre and performs Kathak, a classical dance from India. Her unique choreography bridges ancient traditions and contemporary art. A Master’s in Dance from York University, she has presented at the National Arts Centre, the Canada Dance Festival and the Banff Centre.

arzoodancetheatre.com

Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra (HYSO)

The Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra (HYSO – pronounced hi-so) was founded in May 2004 by Karen Nelson & Cathy Ferreira, both of whom continue to co-manage the program, on a volunteer basis. HYSO is a grass-roots music program with a mission to use music to influence the social development of our children and youth.

hyso.ca

Kareem–Anthony Ferreira

Kareem–Anthony Ferreira creates richly layered paintings that trace patterns of personal, familial and social identity within the genre of black portraiture.  His work has been exhibited internationally, and in 2022, he was the subject (alongside his father) of a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton titled “Gatherings”.

instagram.com/kareemanthony.artist

Nathan Eugene Carson

Nathan Eugene Carson received a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2005. His drawings and paintings have since been shown at Verso Gallery, Lennox Contemporary, Gallery One, and the Drake Hotel in Toronto. Carson’s work was also featured during the AGO First Thursdays in partnership with the RBC Emerging Artists Projects and StreetARToronto.  His most recent solo exhibition is an Art Residency at The Art Gallery of Hamilton titled Black Carnival (2023). 

www.nathaneugenecarson.ca

Open Heart Arts Theatre

Open Heart produces site-specific performance with a conscience. Our practice is centred around community-engaged collaboration, creating performances through storytelling, music and movement, by and about the amazing people in our city. Our work encourages the heart to remain open and inspires action in our community and the world.

www.openheartartstheatre.com

Sarah Sproule

Sarah Sproule is an emerging artist and cultural worker with a BFA from McMaster University. Her work explores the relationship between marginalization, the domestic, and the abstracted body while drawing on the rich visual history of the ghost story. Sarah works primarily in sculpture, utilizing plaster, ceramics, and found objects.

sarahsproule.ca

Chris Pannell

Chris Pannell has published seven books of poetry and has been involved in Hamilton literary events and initiatives since he came to Hamilton in 1989.  Chris is part of a core group of volunteers that run Lit Live, a literary reading series featuring a diverse and exciting range of writers from across Canada.  Pannell has also been a board member for the gritLIT Writing Festival and Hamilton Artists Inc.

litlive.blogspot.com

Helen Graham

Helen Graham promotes Hamilton music, theatre and arts events through her Helen Graham Presents Event Calendar and personal social media accounts.  Helen’s primary focus is the support and promotion of local musicians. She attends multiple live music performances each week and shares live video clips of the shows as they are happening to encourage her followers to come out to show their support. 

www.facebook.com/HamiltonCalendarOfMusic

Jessica Vinluan

Jessica Vinluan is the co-founder of Filipinas of HamOnt, a community-engaged initiative by Filipinas for Filipinas, committed to supporting women, girls, and femme-identified Hamiltonians of Philippine-ancestry.  She is currently working at the Student Success Centre at McMaster University. She is also an English and Visual Arts high school teacher and was the Project Coordinator for Hamilton Art Council's The Arty Crowd project.

www.filipinasofhamont.com

Luis Pereira

Luis Pereira created the Hamilton Blues Lovers (HBL) in 2008. HBL started out as a local music fan support group dedicated to attending and advocating live music in Hamilton. It quickly evolved into both in-person and online support, covering all
genres of music, venues and events. Throughout the years, thousands of artists have been featured and promoted. Luis also volunteers for a variety of organizations, fundraisers, venues and performers.

blueshamilton.blogspot.com