Now that we’re several weeks past the winter solstice and the days are beginning to get longer, we’re entering that season that’s the harbinger of spring — awards show season.
Besides the major Hollywood awards shows, there are also many upcoming awards that recognize Canadian artistic excellence, such as the Canadian Screen Awards (March 12), The Indspire Awards (March 24), The Juno Awards (April 2), and the Much Music Video Awards (June 19). There are also prizes given out each year to artists in the visual and media arts, as well as literature, by the Canada Council, among others.
Right here in Penticton, we have an upcoming awards show that honors artistic excellence, in all its forms — the fourth annual Penticton and District Community Arts Awards, presented by the Penticton Arts Council. These awards consist of 14 categories that represent the full spectrum of creative endeavour. This year’s Arts Awards will be held at the Cleland Theatre on Thursday, March 2.
Recently, I reached out to some of last year’s recipients of the Penticton Arts Awards, to see how receiving an award had impacted their lives and their creative process. The recipient of the 2016 Visual Arts Award was Naramata painter Dennis Evans, who comments “Having been in the Arts for over 50 years and to be selected by one’s peers has been a great honour. As a relative newcomer to the valley, it has introduced me to and shortened the time in getting to know a great range of artists. It has given me an additional tool to promote my work to galleries and the buying public.”
Related: Community honours artistic legacies at 2016 awards
Josephine Patterson, who received the 2016 Theatre Award, informs me “I am now concentrating on playwriting, as well as other writing, and am very fortunate to be able to spend five months this year on the Oregon coast (Newport), devoting that time completely to writing. I think that receiving the award provided much encouragement for me to remain active in the field of Theatre Arts, at both Penticton Chamber Theatre and Many Hats Theatre Company. I am also enrolled in a playwriting workshop at Vernon’s Powerhouse Theatre and have found the first sessions to be excellent. I will also be able to participate in The Shatford Centre’s Writer’s Festival this April.”
Recipient of last year’s Literary award, David Korinetz, had this to say. “I was totally unprepared to win the 2016 Literary Arts Award, since the other nominees were so impressive. I was quite satisfied at the time with just being nominated, but actually winning the award proved to be one of two high points for me in 2016. The Penticton and District Arts Awards is a fantastic event that deserves far more praise than I could possibly offer.”
The nomination period for the fourth annual Penticton Arts Awards is open until Jan. 31. If you know a local artist, singer, dancer, photographer — or any other creative professional — who you feel deserves to be recognized for their contribution to our local arts community, please visit our website at www.PentictonArtsCouncil.com and nominate them for an Arts Award. You can submit more than one nomination, so please show our creative community how much their work means to you — nominate them for an Arts Award today!
If you would like to get in touch, please email me at president@pentictonartscouncil.com.
Timothy Tweed is the President of the Penticton and District Community Arts Council’s Board of Directors.