They bring beauty into our lives, challenge our way of thinking and enrich our culture with their artistic legacy. Last Saturday night, writer-poet Robert Kroetsch and visual artist Jane Ash Poitras received Alberta’s highest honour for their outstanding contributions to the arts.
At the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards, a black-tie gala held at the Enjoy Centre in St. Albert, an appreciative audience of 450 people fêted the two recipients. It was the first time since its inception in 2005 in Banff that the biennial arts awards were held in the Edmonton area.
Kroetsch, a novelist, poet, critic and creative non-fiction author has chronicled the lives of Albertans for the better part of 50 years. Born in Heisler, he published his first work of fiction, But We Are Exiles in 1965 and four years later won the Governor General’s Award for The Studhorse Man.
As host Senator Tommy Banks said, “He makes you think in strange and different ways. He makes you see things you haven’t seen before.”
Also a native Albertan born in Fort Chipewyan, Poitras is both an artist and university lecturer. Central to her oil and collage images is the clash of cultures between Native and mainstream society. Co-host Fil Fraser added, “Hers is a significant body of work recognized well beyond Alberta’s borders.”
Lieut.-Gov. Donald S. Ethell presented the duo with a hand-cast medal, a cash prize of $30,000 and a two-week residency at The Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Colony.
As Ethell draped the medal around Kroetsch’s neck to the crowd’s standing ovation, the Leduc-based writer responded by joking about how he started writing as teenager to “avoid chores.”
He concluded his succinct speech by thanking fellow Canadians for the generous gift. “It is a prized honour to be applauded at home by the people one writes about and the people one writes for.”
Poitras displayed her mischievous humour by immediately turning to Kroetsch. “Congratulations to you Robert. I am in awe sharing this great honour with such a great storyteller. But as you say, greatness likes to hang out together.”
When the laughter died down, Poitras spoke of her deep love, respect and gratitude to close friend, the late Lt.-Gov. Lois Hole, a major driving force in establishing these arts awards.
As Ethell stated earlier in the evening, “We have taken the wonderful vision of the late, great Lois Hole and turned it into a program she would be gratified to see.”
The adjudication panel reviewed nearly 50 potential nominees. Peter Herrndorf, president of the National Arts Centre and chair of the adjudication panel said, “We found the process difficult, but in the final analysis, the two recipients were overwhelmingly the right choice.”
St. Albert Gala committee chair Peter Moloney also announced that the surplus from the gala — about $15,000 to $20,000 — would be directed to a St. Albert legacy fund providing grants to emerging artists.
“It’s still in the works, but we envision that the grant money will be used for programs or educational opportunities,” Moloney said.
The evening ended with an announcement that Red Deer will host the 2013 awards.
