Puppeteer extraordinaire, Ronnie Burkett of Toronto, renowned soprano, Frances Ginzer, Calgary, and internationally acclaimed artist Peter von Tiesenhausen of Demmitt, Alberta, have received Alberta’s highest arts recognition, the 2015 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award.
“These artists are celebrated internationally, yet maintain strong connections to Alberta that continue to feed our local arts culture,” said His Honour Col. (Ret’d) the Honourable Donald S. Ethell. “They are models of creativity, perseverance, and intelligence.”
Peter von Tiesenhausen photo
PETER VON TIESENHAUSEN is a prime example of what people mean when they speak of an artist as “unique.” His belief in the land, in the people of the land, in the conservation and sanctity of the land is powerfully present in every creation, which he has crafted. Working with a huge diversity of media (sculpture, painting, video, community engagement activities), always in thoroughly original ways, he has become a seminal thinker and teacher in the practice of non--‐traditional art, both within and far beyond Canada. Many of his works are site--‐specific installations, which celebrate and simultaneously protect the spaces they inhabit: his entire farm in northern Alberta, where a large number of his works have been created and installed, has been acknowledged as a work of art and an inviolable cultural property.
About the Distinguished Artist Award The Distinguished Artist Award includes a hand--‐cast medal, $30,000 cash award and a two--‐week residency at The Banff Centre Leighton Artists’ Colony. An independent, national adjudication panel of arts experts, overseen by The Banff Centre, reviews nominations and recommends recipients.
About the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation was established in 2003 to raise the profile of the artist in Alberta by celebrating its professional artists. The awards are funded through an endowment established with private donations and gifts from the Province of Alberta and Government of Canada. The Foundation offers two awards programs in alternate years: The Distinguished Artist Awards and the Emerging Artist Awards
Report courtesy of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation.
