POSITIVE FUTURE FOR ALBERTA’S EMERGING ARTISTS

Diversity among first Lieutenant Governor winners
EDMONTON, October 20: “The future of Alberta’s wonderfully diverse arts talents is looking extremely positive,” said Susan Green, chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation, in announcing the first winners of the Foundation’s new emerging artist awards.
“Our adjudication panel members were most impressed with the overall quality of the 85 applications received, and without any guidance from the Foundation, chose three musicians, three visual artists, one theatre director, one film director, a novelist and a multi-media artist as our first emerging artist award winners. The winners were also geographically diverse, again giving us reason to celebrate a positive future for our province’s artistic talents,” added Green.
“Even among those categories where we have three awards, there is also diversity,” she added. “We have a classical violinist, a composer and a singer/songwriter – all Edmonton-based musicians, while our visual artists represent painting and installation works by Calgary-based artists and a sculptor from Red Deer.”
In attempting to assess responses from a broad section of the arts, the Foundation appointed an adjudication panel with a wealth of experience in all sectors. The panel members were former assistant deputy minister of Culture and jazz aficionado, Glen Buick, as the chair; professor emeritus at the University of Alberta and actor/playwright/dramaturge, Jim DeFelice; and chief curator of the Walter Philips Gallery in Banff, Sylvie Gilbert.
Listed in alphabetical order, together with a summary quote from the adjudication panel, the ten emerging artist award winners are:
Robin Arseneault of Calgary, an installation artist: “has a very strong voice, very fresh and vigorous. Already has international exposure and has lots of potential.”
Colleen Brown of Edmonton, a singer/songwriter: “is a real original who will make a very strong impact as she builds on her performance skills.”
Christine Cheung of Calgary, a painter: “she is renewing the language of abstract expressionism. With her strong use of imagery and colour she has the potential to engage an international audience.”
Sherry Coffey of Athabasca, a novelist: “eloquently mixes historical events with fiction to carve an imaginative landscape which draws you in – we can’t wait to read the finished novel!”
Dawn Detarando of Red Deer, a sculptor: “is a fine ceramic artist who is investigating a whole new area in her own work, and has demonstrated an extraordinarily strong commitment to her community in Red Deer.”
Aaron Gervais of Edmonton, a composer: “an artist in full command of his technique whose compositions are most original and inventive, very sophisticated and intellectually engaging.”
Anne Koizumi of Calgary, a film director and animator: “she’s just a superb animator, a fantastic story-teller, passionate, creative inspirational in the way she used sophisticated imagery and sound.”
Simon Mallett of Calgary, a theatre director: “is an innovative young director who has garnered the support of senior artists in his field by his willingness to push beyond and experiment.”
Chad VanGaalen of Calgary, a multi-media artist: “has a unique vision and is multi-talented as he moves fluidly from one discipline to another – the work is very promising as he develops a unique artistic voice.”
Andrew Wan of Edmonton, a violinist: “we were wowed by his CD – his playing is so lyrical and emotional – quite amazing.”
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For further information contact: Susan Green, Foundation President at 780-908-1149
Contact information for the Emerging Artist Award winners is:
Robin Arseneault: ranne@robinarseneault.com or 403-399-3889
Colleen Brown: info@colleenbrownmusic.com or 780-756-2635 or 780-819-1651 (cell)
Christine Cheung: chcheung1@gmail.com or in Beijing at +13681418504
Sherry Coffey: s.coffey@telus.net or 780-675-3884 (H) or 780-675-6219 (B)
Dawn Detarando: voyagertile@telus.net or 403-314-1315
Aaron Gervais: aaron@aarongervais.com
Anne Koizumi: koizum@yahoo.com or 403-585-0466 (B) or 403-477-0447 (cell)
Simon Mallett: simon@downstage.ca or 403-889-0760
Chad VanGaalen: art@flemisheye.com or 403-969-3253
Andrew Wan: andrewjwan@gmail.com or in New York at 212-444-8779

Note to Editors and Photo Editors: Presentations of the new Emerging Arts Awards will be made by Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong at lunches at Government House in Edmonton on Wednesday, October 22nd, and at McDougall Centre in Calgary on October 23rd. Background information on the program is attached.

Backgrounder
THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ALBERTA
EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Objective:
The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation has established this new program to stimulate the development of Alberta’s promising artists in all sectors of the arts.
Frequency of Awards:
The Emerging Artists awards will be presented in alternate years to the established awards for Distinguished Artists. The next call for submissions for the Emerging Artists Awards will be in 2010.
Prizes:
Up to ten awards can be presented in each contest. The winners receive $10,000 and a medallion from the Foundation.
Application Process:
Each applicant for the Emerging Artist award must submit an application, together with an appraisal from three established artists, who are able to provide assessments of the current ability and future potential of the applicant.
Adjudication Process:
A panel of knowledgeable experts from the arts is appointed by the Foundation Board and management at The Banff Centre to evaluate all submissions and make recommendations to the Foundation.
Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants for the Emerging Artist Award must be Canadian Citizens or landed immigrants, and residents of Alberta for at least 2 years. They must have completed training in their discipline and:
• Be at an early stage of the artistic career, as shown by the significant investment of time and resources;
• Have created a body of independent work with a history of public presentations or publications; and
• Be recognized by others working in the same artistic tradition.