Arts in Education Award

The Arts in Education Award celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging St. Catharines residents through arts education activities.

 Emerging Artist Award

The Emerging Artist Award is presented to an emerging St. Catharines artist working in any discipline to celebrate current accomplishments and future potential. Emerging Artists are establishing careers in their field and are working to become recognized professional artists. The Jury will consider nominees who are 18 years or older, who are based and active in St. Catharines and who have been practicing their art form for less than 10 years.

Established Artist Award

The Established Artist Award is presented to a professional St. Catharines artist in any discipline who has received critical recognition for excellence in their art practice in St. Catharines and beyond. The jury will consider nominees who have been actively practicing their art form for at least 10 years and whose work has made an impact on the St. Catharines’ community.

Making a Difference Award

The Making a Difference Award celebrates a St. Catharines arts entrepreneur, arts administrator, arts organization, arts animator or volunteer in the arts whose leadership and innovation have significantly contributed to the growth and development of arts and culture in St. Catharines.

 Patron of the Arts Award

The Patron of the Arts Award celebrates an individual, business or organization that has made a meaningful contribution to the arts in St. Catharines through innovative, transformative, and entrepreneurial partnerships or philanthropic investments. 

 General Eligibility Criteria for Nominees

• All nominees must be St. Catharines residents, or have made a consistent, significant and recent contribution to the arts in St. Catharines, or a significant portion of their practice is based in St. Catharines. 
• Note: owner / tenant of land in St. Catharines will also be considered a “resident.”
• All nominations are screened to ensure eligibility.
• Posthumous nominations will be considered.
• Nominations may be submitted by an individual or organization.
• Only nominations received before April 1, 2021 will be considered for the 2021 Awards.
• Nominators may make one nomination per category per year in each of the 5 award categories.
• Nominators may not nominate themselves for an award.
• Nominees must consent to the use of photos and biographical material to be used for promotions.
• The Arts Awards are not grants. The receipt of an Arts Award is not a requirement for the awarding of any municipal grants.
• The City of St. Catharines reserves the right to accept or reject nominations and reserves the right to accept or reject any or all nominations in a particular category.
• Proposed nominees must score a minimum of 60% average from the Jury to move forward and be confirmed as an award nominee.
• The City reserves the right to cancel any and/or all awards at any time.
• Please see detailed eligibility for each category below.

Please consult the 2021 Nomination Guidelines (click here) for detailed eligibility criteria and Jury Scoring Criteria.

The Awards Jury and Recipient Recognition

Awards Jury

All nominations will be evaluated by an independent jury comprised of three artists and/or arts professionals. The jury will be chaired by a member of the Arts Awards Subcommittee and will select the award recipients. All decisions of the jury are final. The Jury will remain anonymous until event day.

Award recognition will be presented as follows:

• Arts in Education, Established Artist, and Making a Difference - a $500 cheque and a beautifully hand-crafted St. Catharines Arts Award.

• Emerging Artist - a $500 cheque and civic certificate of appreciation.
• Patron of the Arts - a beautifully hand-crafted St. Catharines Arts Award.

 Previous Event Details

2020 Event:

On Oct. 25, 2020 the Arts Awards went virtual!

The awards were celebrated live online as a co-presentation by the City of St. Catharines with presenting partner FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

Hosted by Jessica Wilson, our 2018 Emerging Artist Recipient and featuring performances by 2020 nominee Juliet Dunn accompanied by Peter Shea.

Watch the live-stream recording online on the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Youtube: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-B-YZDiEk

Or on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/FirstOntPAC/videos/

2020 Recipients:

The 2020 Arts in Education recipient Kari-Lynn Winters is an award-winning children’s author, playwright, poet, performer, and academic scholar. An experienced teacher of writing, she has worked with students across North America and currently teaches Drama in Education to future educators at Brock University. 

The Emerging Artist recipient Erica Sherwood is a multi-disciplinary artist who has held roles as a director, actor, editor, producer, marketer, promoter, camera operator, cohost, organizer, singer, improviser, film-maker and sound designer. She has received critical recognition for her work both as an actor and film-maker. Erica frequently collaborates with local organizations and has created a youth film initiative/non profit ‘Jarico Films’ to promote youth involvement in film in Niagara.

The Established Artist recipient Danny Custodio is a photo-based artist who has been living and working in St. Catharines since 2009. Beginning with his studies of Photography, Custodio has developed a rigorous practice that explores his familial histories and cultural traditions. His work has been presented in exhibitions throughout North America and is held in many collections. Custodio’s most recent works: ‘Flower Carpets/Tapetes Floridos’, were featured in solo exhibitions at Rodman Hall Art Centre and Smokestack Gallery.

The Making a Difference recipient Juliet Dunn is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the TD Niagara Jazz Festival which celebrates the art of Jazz across the Niagara region, presenting internationally acclaimed musicians, and showcasing local performers at a variety of events throughout the year. Juliet is a performer herself, known widely for her talents as a Jazz singer and actress.

The Jury’s Pick recipient Candice Turner-Smith is an arts administrator who is known for serving as the Executive Director of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra from 2012 until her retirement in 2019. Since leaving the Niagara Symphony, Candice is once again focussed on her extensive consulting career, working with many organizations including The Foster Festival, Bravo Niagara, Carousel Players, Chorus Niagara and Music Niagara, just to name a few. Candice was originally nominated in the Making a Difference Category.

For More Information

Contact:

Cultural Services Office
Email: culture@stcatharines.ca
Telephone: 905.359.7348