An outdoor children’s theatre designed to withstand the winds of northern Cape Breton, a unique multimedia presentation, a book of poetry that fired the imaginations of readers across the country, a unique wood carving that required the creator to first build the mechanism on which to create it; they have all won the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s Masterworks Arts Award. Nominations are now open for the 2010 competition.
Ronald Bourgeois, Chair of the Nova Scotia Masterworks Awards Foundation, which administers the prize, encouraged all supporters of contemporary art, in all its forms, to nominate a work. He said “At $25,000 for the winner and $2000 for each of the other four finalists, the Award is the largest presented by the province annually”.
This is the fifth year for the multidisciplinary award, which honours all forms of contemporary art including design, theatre, landscape art, dance, visual arts, literature, film, music, new media. The list is extensive. The main criteria are that the work have had its first public presentation within the past five years, and that it have a strong connection to Nova Scotia. The finalists and the winner are selected by an arm’s length jury of artists over the summer presentation of the award in the fall.
Her Honour the Honourable Mayann E. Francis, ONS, DHumL, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, noted “The arts make up such an important part of who we are as Nova Scotians and the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s Masterworks Arts Award is significant in promoting home grown talent and honouring a wide variety of artistic endeavour with a strong connection to our province. I am delighted that my office plays a role in recognizing outstanding artistic achievement.”
The nomination form for the 2010 prize, complete with detailed guidelines on criteria and other helpful information, is available from the website at www.nsmasterworks.ca. Submissions must be postmarked on or before June 4, 2010.
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Arts Award is made possible by major funding from the Province of Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Masterwork Awards Foundation also gratefully acknowledges the support of The Craig Foundation and Scotiabank.
-30-
