Established and emerging artists honoured in the 2108 Hamilton Arts Awards
Kosha Braun was honoured posthumously Wednesday with the City of Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts, recognizing the many years she dedicated to teaching violin to thousands of young students.
Braun, who died in April at the age of 86 after a short battle with cancer, was born in Cape Breton and performed as a professional violinist with the Halifax Symphonette and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra before committing to full-time teaching. Braun taught the HamiltonWentworth District School Board strings program for 36 years until her retirement at the age of 76.
The lifetime achievement award was one of 19 announced Wednesday night at a reception, hosted by local comedian Clifford Myers, at Theatre Aqaurius.
Before the award was announced, the deaths of Braun and fellow nominee McMaster music professor David Gerry were recognized with a minute of silence.
Braun’s award was accepted by her granddaughter, Jennifer Spleit-Landry.
“Kosha’s students now number in the thousands,” Spleit-Landry said. “She has touched and taught so many lives ... Many of them are now professional musicians performing across North America.”
Awards were presented in 11 categories Wednesday, with an established artist selected in each. In eight of the categories, an emerging artist, designated by the winning established artist, was also selected.
Established winners received $2,500 each, plus a bronze medallion, while the designated emerging artists received $1,000 each. The winner of the newly established Shirley Elford Emerging Artist Prize received $2,000.
Other winners announced Wednesday:
• Astrid Hepner (Arts Innovation). Founder of the Hamilton Music Collective, Hepner is a saxophonist and a former executive with Blue Note Records in New York. Hepner is also the director and founder of An Instrument for Every Child.
• Jeff (Fuzzy) Mall (Shirley Elford Emerging Artist — Fine Craft). A self-taught textile artist and newcomer to Hamilton, Mall quilts portraits of people he has met on the streets of Hamilton.
• Becky Katz (Arts Education and Community Arts). Katz is artistic director of Strangewaves and director of outreach at Centre(3) for print and media arts. She is also a visual artist, musician and art educator. Emerging artist — Christina Tarsitano.
• Becca Dowden (Arts Management). Downden owns and operates a grant writing business, working with non-profit organizations and artists on development, delivery and management of projects and events. Emerging artist — Christina Tarsitano.
• Hitoko Okada (Fine Craft). A fibre artist and craft maker originally from Vancouver, Okada is the co-ordinator for the (Nu) Links program, a core member of Hamilton 7 and a member of COBRA. Emerging artist — Amina Z. Suhrwardy.
• Vanessa Crosbie Ramsay
(Media Arts). A filmmaker and media artist, Crosbie Ramsay’s art explores women’s identity and social equality. Emerging artist — Dima Matar.
• Harrison Kennedy (Music). A founding member of the Detroit group Chairmen of the Board, Kennedy has received multiple Juno nominations, winning in 2016 for blues album of the year, as well as 2018 Maple Blues songwriter of the year. Emerging artist — Jason Hachey.
• Marilo Nunez (Theatre). Nunez is a playwright and director who was the founding artistic director of Alameda Theatre Company. She is currently studying for an MFA in creative writing at the University of Guelph. Emerging artist — Jenny Vasquez.
• Sylvia Nickerson (Visual Arts). Nickerson is an illustrator whose work critiques gender, class, religion and capitalism. She is a member of the Casino arts collective. Emerging artist — Benita Whyte.
• Jamie Tennant (Writing). Tennant is a freelance journalist and program director at 93.3 CFMU FM, where he also hosts the program “Get Lit.” His 2016 debut novel “The Captain of Kinnoull Hill” was a finalist for the Hamilton Literary Awards. Emerging artist — Benjamin Robinson.