After a five-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced the return of the Peterborough Arts Awards, as well as The Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts where the awards will be presented, with nominations for the awards open until December 16.
An independent not-for-profit service organization supporting the arts in Peterborough and the surrounding region, EC3 established the awards to honour and recognize excellence and outstanding achievement of professional artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters living and working the city and county of Peterborough.
Funded entirely by private-sector sponsors, corporations, and businesses, the 2024 Peterborough Arts Awards provide cash awards of $2,000 in the following six categories.
- Outstanding Emerging Artist, recognizing outstanding achievement by an artist, working professionally in any discipline, who has been practising in their field for at least two years.
- Outstanding Mid-Career Artist, recognizing outstanding achievement by an artist, working professionally in any discipline, who has been practising in their field for at least five years.
- Outstanding Senior Artist, recognizing outstanding achievement by an artist, working professionally in any discipline, who has been practising in their field for at least 15 years.
- Outstanding Achievement by an Indigenous Artist, recognizing outstanding achievement by an Indigenous artist, working professionally in any discipline, contemporary or traditional form.
- Arts Champion, recognizing a person who has consistently provided outstanding support and encouragement for the development of the arts in Peterborough through philanthropy, volunteerism, or the development of partnerships and collaborations (this prize is given to an individual who, in turn, gives it to a local not-for-profit professional arts organization).
- Arts Catalyst, recognizing outstanding achievement by a professional arts administrator or manager, fundraiser, art critic, curator, educator, programmer, or producer who has worked behind the scenes to build excellence in the arts.
Winners, who are selected by a peer jury drawn from a multi-disciplinary pool of nominated candidates, will be recognized at the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts on February 13, 2025 at The Canadian Canoe Museum, with more details to be announced closer to the event.
Nomination instructions, guidelines, and forms are available at ecthree.org/peterborough-arts-awards-2024/.
Nominations will be accepted until the end of the day on Monday, December 16. While self-nominations will not be accepted, a nominee can work together with a nominator on a nomination application.
The Peterborough Arts Awards were established in 2018 through the efforts of Bill Lockington of LLF Lawyers, who led the sponsorship campaign to successfully raise $60,000 to support each of the awards over five years.
The winners of the inaugural awards in 2018 were Melody Thomas (Outstanding Emerging Artist), Brad Brackenridge (Outstanding Mid-Career Artist), Robert Winslow (Outstanding Senior Artist), Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Outstanding Achievement by an Indigenous Artist), Krista English (Arts Catalyst), and Beth McMaster (Arts Champion).
The winners of the 2019 awards were Nimkii Osawamick (Outstanding Emerging Artist), Patti Shaughnessy and Beau Dixon (Outstanding Mid-Career Artist), Alice Williams (Outstanding Senior Artist), Hilary Wear (Outstanding Achievement by an Indigenous Artist), Ryan Kerr (Arts Catalyst), and Charlie Werger (Arts Champion).
