Halifax, N.S. – Nominations are now open for the 2013 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. Now in its eighth year, at $25,000 it is the largest cultural award offered by the Province of Nova Scotia. In addition, a further $3,000 is presented to up to four finalists, bringing the total to a possible $37,000 awarded annually for contemporary art which has had its first public presentation within the previous five years.
Encouraging artists of all disciplines to consider a nomination, Brigadier General the Honourable J.J. Grant, CMM, ONS, CD (Ret’d), Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia said “Artists celebrate life and challenge us to appreciate the world around us. When I took office last year, I was very pleased to continue patronage of this prestigious award and anxious to meet the talented artists who make our province so culturally diverse. It has been exciting to get to know their work, be it in performance, on display in a gallery, on the internet or elsewhere and I look forward even more to this year.”
NSCAD professor Jan Peacock nominated Kim Morgan’s Rangelight Borden Carleton, PEI, 2010, for the 2012 Nova Scotia Masterworks Award, which won the $25,000 Prize. “I felt so strongly about Rangelight Borden-Carleton, PEI, 2010 that I wanted to do something that would seat it in the imaginations of all Nova Scotians,” said Peacock. “An achievement of this magnitude deserves to be celebrated.” Kim Morgan would later say, “This is the first major public recognition of my work. The substantial financial award will enable me to launch another significant work of art… The Masterworks Award is public recognition of hard work, dedication and many leaps of faith.”
“This is a powerful incentive to nominate – to take the time to complete our nomination process”, said Susan Letson, Chair of the Masterworks Award Foundation Board. “I encourage everyone to appreciate the works of art, performances of art, art you see around you and to nominate the one that you consider a “Masterwork”.
The nomination form, with detailed guidelines updated for this year’s competition, is available from the website at www.nsmasterworks.ca. Submissions must be postmarked on or before June 1, 2013. The finalists and the winner are selected by an arm’s length jury of artists over the summer with presentation of the award in the fall.
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award is made possible by major funding from the Province of Nova Scotia. The Foundation also gratefully acknowledges the support of The Craig Foundation, Scotiabank, Stewart McKelvey, and the Centre for Art Tapes.
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For further information:
Hannah Beck, Strategic Arts Management, 902-407-8885
E-mail: admin@nsmasterworks.ca
