2018 City of Hamilton Arts Awards Recipients Announced

HAMILTON, ON - The City of Hamilton is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018 City of Hamilton Arts Awards presented during a gala celebration on Wed. Jun. 6 at Theatre Aquarius Dofasco Centre for the Arts.

The awards ceremony and reception celebrated Hamilton's flourishing arts community with art installations, live performances, catering from across Hamilton’s cultural communities, and the announcement of the 19 Award recipients profiled below.

Lifetime Achievement, Arts Innovation and all discipline-specific recipients receive a $2,500 cash prize and bronze medallion; Emerging Artist recipients receive $1,000; and the Shirley Elford Emerging Artist Prize recipient receives $2,000 and a glass sculpture.

Nominations are submitted by community members. Each nominee in a discipline-specific category selects an emerging artist for recognition. An independent jury comprised of discipline-specific artists and arts professionals evaluates and selects the strongest nomination, based on each nominee’s work, career, and reception by the arts community at large. Nominations must achieve a minimum benchmark score to be eligible for the award.

Lifetime Achievement

Kosha Braun

Kosha Braun taught for the HWDSB strings program for 36 years until the age of 76, well past retirement age. She gave up her own performance career as a violinist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra to commit to full time teaching in Hamilton's public schools. Kosha’s past students number in the thousands and her devotion to music education has forever enriched our community.

Arts Innovation

Astrid Hepner
www.hamiltonmusiccollective.ca

Saxophonist/Educator Astrid Hepner is the Founder/CEO of the Hamilton Music Collective. As an Executive at Blue Note Records, EMI Music in New York City, she boosted and launched the careers of artists around the world. Now, as the Director of the HMC’s An-Instrument-for-Every-Child program, Astrid nurtures young budding musicians in Hamilton.

Shirley Elford Emerging Artist Prize – Fine Craft

presented by the Shirley Elford Fund at the Hamilton Community Foundation

Jeff “Fuzzy” Mall
www.quiltedportrait.com

Fuzzy Mall is a self-taught textile artist. As a recent transplant to Canada, he has spent the last year and a half quilting portraits of strangers who he's met, while exploring his new community of Hamilton.

Arts Education & Community Arts

Becky Katz
www.centre3.com/home/community-arts/projects

Becky Katz is a Hamilton-born multi-disciplinary artist who can be accurately described as a visual artist, experimental feminist music-maker, art educator, promoter, and DIY community-organizer. Becky is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Strangewaves, and the Director of Outreach at Centre[3] for Print & Media Arts, two not-for-profits in Hamilton.

Becky selected Christina Tarsitano as her emerging artist recipient.

Arts Management

Becca Dowden

Becca believes everyone should have access to the arts and the opportunity to create; to share in the benefits and joys that the arts bring to our community. She owns and operates a grant writing business, working with non-profit organizations and artists on the development, delivery, and management of projects, programming, and events.

Becca selected Christina Tarsitano as her emerging artist recipient.

Fine Craft

Hitoko Okada 
www.hitokoo.com

Hitoko Okada is a fibre artist and craft maker from Vancouver, BC. She has exhibited work in galleries across Canada, and has been selected for the 2018 artist residency at the Haystack School of Craft in Maine, USA. Through her handcraft company, Hitoko.o, she intersects wearable art with cultural and politicized narratives. She is the co-ordinator for [Nu]Links program, a core member of the Hamilton 7, and a member of COBRA in Hamilton.

Hitoko selected Amina Z. Suhrwardy as her emerging artist recipient.

Media Arts

Vanessa Crosbie Ramsay
www.liltfilms.com

As a professional artist, Vanessa’s practice includes film and video, storytelling, visual art, projection, site-specific installation, and community engagement. She’s a filmmaker and media artist with many years of experience creating both solo and collaborative works. Her art explores women’s identity and social equality, diverse representation, and the creative process.

Vanessa selected Dima Matar as her emerging artist recipient.

Music

Harrison Kennedy
www.harrisonkennedy.ca

Harrison “Sweettaste” Kennedy is a founding member of the million selling Detroit group ‘The Chairmen of the Board’ and has appeared on Soul Train, American Bandstand, and The Tonight Show. His awards include a JUNO in 2016 for 'Blues Album of the Year', Socan's 'Maple Blues Song Writer of the Year' in 2018, and was nominated for both Acoustic Album and Acoustic Artist of the Year at the 2018 39th Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee.

Harrison selected Jason Hachey as his emerging artist recipient.

Theatre

Marilo Nuñez
www.marilonunez.com

Marilo Nuñez is a playwright/director who was the founding Artistic Director of Alameda Theatre Company, one of Canada’s only theatre companies dedicated to the development of new work by Latinx playwrights. She is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School’s acting program and is currently attending the University of Guelph for an MFA in Creative Writing.

Marilo selected Jenny Vasquez as her emerging artist recipient.

Visual Arts

Sylvia Nickerson
www.sylvianickerson.ca

Sylvia Nickerson is a creator of comics, illustrations and installations that critique gender, class, capitalism and religion. Through exhibitions, printed books and social media Sylvia mobilizes her graphic art to question social norms around identity, representation, and belief. She is a member of the arts collective, Casino.

Sylvia selected Benita Whyte as her emerging artist recipient.

Writing

Jamie Tennant
www.jamietennant.ca

Jamie Tennant is a long-time freelance journalist and author. By day, he’s the Program Director at 93.3 CFMU FM, and the host of the literature program Get Lit. He was a National Magazine Award nominee and Hamilton Literary Awards finalist for his 2016 novel, ‘The Captain of Kinnoull Hill’.

Jamie selected Benjamin Robinson as his emerging artist recipient.

Sponsors

Local businesses financially contributed to the 2018 Arts Awards Program to make the emerging artist prizes possible, and representatives were on hand to present the awards and connect with deserving nominees. The City of Hamilton gratefully acknowledges these organizations, as well as the Reception and In-Kind sponsors for their generous contributions.

• Media Sponsor - The Hamilton Spectator
• Venue Sponsor - Theatre Aquarius
• Photography Sponsor - Banko Media
• Print Sponsor - Reprodux
• Reception Sponsors - View Magazine, dpai Architecture Inc.

Emerging Artist Award Sponsors    

• Arts Education and Community Arts Award - Marz Homes
• Arts Management Award - BLR, LLP Chartered Professional Accountants
• Fine Craft Award - Elizabeth Parker, Sales representative, Judy Marsales Real Estate Ltd Brokerage
• Media Arts Award - Core Urban Inc.
• Music Award - Mohawk College
• Theatre Award - The Incite Foundation for the Arts
• Visual Arts Award - Upper James Toyota 
• Writing Award - IPC Securities, Next Steps Planning

The City Of Hamilton Arts Awards

The City of Hamilton Arts Awards is one of the oldest municipality-led arts awards programs in Canada. This program inspires, celebrates and builds awareness of the valued contribution that artists make to Hamilton; fosters growth, develops talent and helps demonstrate the City’s pride in Hamilton’s arts community.

For more information and high resolution photos of this year’s award recipients:
Email [email protected]
Phone: 905-546-2424, ext. 7612
www.hamilton.ca/artsawards