Province to honour top Alberta artists

To recognize the achievements of Alberta’s visual arts community, the Alberta government through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA), has created a new Visual Arts Award in the amount of $50,000. The award will recognize an individual or group that has made an outstanding contribution to visual arts in the province. The Tommy Banks Performing Arts Award and the Grant MacEwan Literary Arts Award were also revised and increased to $50,000 each to provide similar recognition to individuals or groups in the performing and literary arts. The awards are helping to achieve the goals and strategies laid out in Alberta’s new Cultural Policy – the Spirit of Alberta. This year’s awards will be presented in September.

Arts awards to be presented in three categories

Alberta Foundation for the Arts Visual Arts Award

This is a new award created to honour an individual, a partnership, a collective or an organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the visual arts in Alberta and demonstrates artistic excellence. This award was created as an indication that visual arts are integral to the quality of life of all Albertans. The value of the award is $50,000.

Tommy Banks Performing Arts Award

This award was created to honour Tommy Banks’ contribution to the performing arts in recognition of his role as founding chairman of the Alberta Foundation for the Performing Arts. It recognizes excellence within Alberta’s performing arts community. Individuals, partnerships, collectives and organizations are eligible. It has been expanded to included all the performing arts and the value of the award has increased to $50,000.

Grant MacEwan Literary Award

This award was created to honour the tremendous achievements of the late Dr. Grant MacEwan who practiced and supported literary excellence. It recognizes literary excellence in Alberta and celebrates the achievements and contributions of an individual, a partnership, a collective or an organization from the literary arts community. The value of the award has increased from $25,000 to $50,000.

Deadline for submissions:
May 1, 2008

Nomination forms for each of the awards can be downloaded from www.affta.ab.ca/arts-awards.shtml,
or call 780-427-9968 (dial 310-0000 for toll-free access).