Sandra Sawatzky has won the Outstanding Calgary Artist Award, one of a series of Calgary cultural leadership awards.
Sawatzky is known for meticulous projects like The Black Gold Tapestry, a chronological narrative about oil and its impact on humanity, and The Age of Uncertainty, an embroidered compendium of contemporary anxieties.
It was one of a series of $5,000 awards announced Friday at a gala hosted by Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek at the city's Jack Singer Concert Hall.
The Indigenous Artist Award went to Danielle Piper, an artist of Nehiyaw, Metis and Denesuline heritage, who worked as artist in residence at the Calgary Public Library for three months earlier this year.
The New Canadian Artist Award went to Claudia Chagoya, a visual artist from Mexico, while the Emerging Artist Award went to Sarah Uwadiae, an early-career multidisciplinary artist from Nigeria.
The Arts Leadership Award recipient was Stephanie Hutchinson, a volunteer with YYC Music Awards, while Janey Luc-German, a volunteer who promotes the arts in schools, picked up the Healing Through the Arts Award.
The Emerging Arts Manager Award went to Daniel Cardinal McCartney, the assistant director of Stride Gallery, an artist-run centre in Calgary. The City Builder Award went to the Casa Mexico Foundation, which has supported emerging and professional artists for the last 13 years.
More than 50 artists and organizations were nominated for the awards. To learn more, go here.
Source: Calgary Arts Development