It's time once again to consider who should be called the most distinguished artists in the province. The call for nominations went out on Wednesday for the 2011 Distinguished Artist Award.
The 10-week timeframe means all names must be put forth by Jan. 20. The biennial program is administered by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation.
"We are eagerly looking forward to receiving these nominations," said foundation chair Susan Green, adding the term 'artist' is a broadly applied category.
Since its inception in 2005, the awards have been given to artists as diverse as St. Albert Place architect Douglas Cardinal, the Calgary theatre troupe One Yellow Rabbit and Joan Stebbins, the former curator and director at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.
Strangely, no painter or sculptor has been recognized.
"We get a lot of nominations [for them]," Green said, adding these artists usually fare better in the emerging artist awards, held in opposing years from the distinguished artist awards. "It's just maybe that the competition that particular year, the visual artists didn't come to the top. We need people in the visual artist community to make sure that they are nominating their very best representatives."
She added the term 'distinguished' means the artist will probably have some kind of recognition provincially, nationally and/or internationally. It is not necessarily a lifetime achievement award as many of the previous recipients are still considered in the middle of their careers. A nominee can also be someone who has made a significant contribution to the arts.
As in previous years, the entries will be adjudicated by a panel of three artists from outside Alberta who have an appreciation of a broad spectrum of arts disciplines. The adjudication will be co-ordinated by The Banff Centre.
The artists chosen by the panel will receive $30,000 cash, a newly minted medallion and the opportunity to spend time at The Banff Centre's Leighton Artists' Colony. Up to three awards will be presented by Lt.-Gov. Donald S. Ethell.
Artists cannot put forward their own names. Details of the submission criteria are posted at www.artsawards.ca.
ArtiCulture Festival
The awards presentation will occur during a gala ceremony on April 9 in St. Albert. This event is anticipated to be one of the highlights of a four-day festival called ArtiCulture, the details of which are still in the planning stages.
Committee chair Peter Moloney said that a formal announcement would be forthcoming by the end of 2010.
"It's still in formation. What we're trying to do is celebrate the arts and cultural history of St. Albert."
This larger celebration was integral to the city winning the bid to host the awards in the first place.
"The bid is certainly about holding the gala but it's also about doing something that's amazing for your community," Green said, referring to Lloydminster's celebration five years ago. They created a festival called Art Without Borders to surround the awards presentation, but the festival has carried on every year since then. "There are different things that every community does."
