Rush, Mary Walsh to receive Governor General’s Award
Geddy Lee and the gang to be honoured for Lifetime Artistic Achievement at ceremony on May 4 in Ottawa
For some, cultural respectability comes in a flash. For Rush, it took four decades — but who’s counting?
That’s because the power trio from southern Ontario was elevated into the upper chambers of the Canadian cultural elite Tuesday, when their names were announced as recipients of the 2012 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
The awards were announced in a ceremony at the Calgary’s Grand Theatre on Tuesday.
Others prize recipients were actress and writer Mary Walsh, pianist Janina Fialkowska, dancer and choreographer Paul- Andre Fortier, theatre director Denis Marleau, and filmmaker Deepa Mehta.
The winners were selected by peer juries from more than 300 nominations made by the general public over the past year.
In a presentation at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall on May 4, each winner receives a commemorative medal struck by the Canadian Mint and $ 25,000. A gala event at the National Arts Centre follows on May 5.
Other honourees include Earlaine Collins, who won the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s outgoing artistic director, Des Mcanuff, who won the National Arts Centre Award for his exceptional work over the past year.
“Obviously, they’re a really interesting, diverse group of recipients,” said Jayne Watson, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation, which partnered on the awards.
“In some cases, some recipients are better- known than others, but that’s always the joy of this program ... and sometimes it bridges the cultural divide between English and French Canada, which I think is another important benefit of this awards program.”
It’s the 20th year that the performing artist awards have been handed out, with past winners including filmmaker Paul Gross, singers kd lang and Joni Mitchell and actor William Shatner.