Creative talents honoured at Artsnl Awards
Some of the province’s outstanding creative residents were honoured in Labrador over the weekend, as Artsnl presented its annual awards gala.
This year – and for this year only – the ceremony saw the addition of an extra award presentation: the Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award, which was given to Labrador writer Alex Saunders.
Saunders, who writes fiction and non-fiction, is the author of “Aullak” (“On the Land”), and has written about addictions and intergenerational trauma. He also serves as a healer and a facilitator in the Labrador Inuit community.
The BMO Bank of Montreal Artist of the Year award went to guitarist Duane Andrews. Since the release of his debut solo album in 2004, Andrew has become known for his swinging jazz and traditional Newfoundland tunes.
“His talented hands and sonic skill make the two not just work together, Duane Andrews makes the sounds soar,” Artsnl said.
Andrews, who is also a composer and producer, is a member of the Juno Award-winning children’s group The Swinging Belles, as well as the quartet Fretboard Journey.
Writer Sharon Bala, whose recent novel, “The Boat People,” is a Globe and Mail bestseller, took home the CBC Emerging Artist of the Year award.
Bala is a past recipient of the Percy Janes First Novel Award, the Writers Trust/mcclelland and Stewart Journey Prize, three Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters awards, and numerous Artsnl project grants.
The Arts Achievement Award, which recognizes an outstanding contribution to the arts over a period of years, was presented to longtime circus performer Beni Malone. A graduate of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College as well as circus schools in Toronto and Paris, Malone is the founder of St. John’s-based Wonderbolt Circus.
One of his goals with the establishment of the circus was to bring quality entertainment to rural communities, and he has worked with the Innu Education Authority, the Nunatsiavut government and Rigolet’s Northern Lights Academy to develop and bring circus, performing arts and physical arts programs to young people in Labrador.
Wonderbolt also operates a circus school in St. John’s and entices world-renowned circus performers to St. John’s to participate in its original shows. Notre Dame Bay-based guitarist, composer and publisher Eric West was presented with the Memorial University Arts in Education award.
West has performed, toured, recorded and written a book as one half of children’s musical duo Heather and Eric, and has composed music for radio, TV and the stage (including for “Sesame Street”).
He leads workshops at schools and music camps, founded the Vinland Music Camp and is the president of the non-profit Soundbone Traditional Arts Foundation.
Jacinta Mackey Graham, whose resume includes theatre, music and teaching, was inducted into the Artsnl Hall of Honour for achievements in the arts over the past 40 years. She started an award-winning vocal jazz ensemble in 1978, and turned to musical theatre a couple years later, directing major musicals at local high schools.
She is an actress, having performed with Beothuk Street Players, is a voice, musical theatre and choral teacher, and cofounded Atlantic Light Theatre in 2013, with productions of “Les Misérables,” “Sister Act,” “Billy Elliot” and others to its credit. The Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union was honoured with the Patron of the Arts Award for its contributions to the arts community, which include sponsorship of the Fresh Fish Award for emerging writers, the Tuckamore Music Festival’s annual children’s concert, Kiwanis music festivals around the province, the Piper’s Frith Writer’s Retreat and various theatre productions.
Winners of the CBC Emerging Artist, Memorial University Arts in Education, Arts Achievement and BMO Bank of Montreal Artist of the Year awards receive a $2,500 cash prize and a piece of artwork.
The inductee to the Artsnl Hall of Honour and the Artsnl Patron of the Arts Award winners receive a piece of artwork. This year’s artwork was a series of six ceramic tiles created by St. John’s-based visual artist Stefanie Smith.