Winners of Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts Named

Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts have been named. 

Eight people have been named for their exceptional careers and contributions to the visual arts, media arts and fine crafts.

Louise Lemieux Bérubé, a fine craft artist from Montréal, Québec, has been presented with the Saidye Bronfman Award. 

“Established by the Bronfman family in 1977, the Saidye Bronfman Award is the most prestigious distinction in fine crafts in Canada,” according to the news release. “Every year, the Canadian Museum of History acquires either a single work or a series of works by the winner.”

And Michelle Jacques, a curator from Saskatoon, Sask., has been presented with the Outstanding Contribution Award.

Artistic Achievement Awards have been presented to Shuvinai Ashoona, a visual artist from Kinngait, Nunavut; Barbara Astman, a visual artist from Toronto, Ont.; Dominique Blain, a visual artist from Montréal, Que.; Marjorie Beaucage, a creative documentary filmmaker from Duck Lake, Sask.; Don Ritter, a visual, sound and media artist from Montréal; and Greg Staats, a visual artist from Toronto.

“Each one of the eight winners of the 2024 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts is a visionary in their own right,” said Michelle Chawla, Canada Council for the Arts Director and CEO, in the news release.

“Through a unique, evocative and bold view of the world, these artists have succeeded in awakening new perspectives, contributing to public debate and propelling society forward.” 

Each winner will receive a $25,000 prize and a bronze medallion.

Canadian filmmakers have also created artistic video portraits of every winner.This year’s peer assessment committee members for the Saidye Bronfman Award include Lisa Hageman Yahgujanaas, a fibre artist from Massett, B.C.; Susan Low-Beer, a ceramic and multimedia sculptor from Toronto; and Thierry Plante-Dubé, CEO of Centre Materia, the Maison des métiers d’art de Québec (MMAQ) and the Institut québécois d’ébénisterie (IQE).

Peer assessment committee members for the Artistic Achievement Award and Outstanding Contribution Award include Mario Doucette, a visual artist  from Moncton, New Brunswick; Dominique Fontaine, a curator from Montréal; Kay Higgins, an artist and cultural worker from Vancouver; Kevin McKenzie, a visual artist and assistant professor at Brandon University in Brandon, Man.; and Midi Onodera, a moving image artist from Toronto.

Source: Canada Council for the Arts

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