March 14, 2004

The Art Bank welcomed the seven Laureates of the 2004 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGAVMA) with a private reception at its location on 921 St. Laurent Blvd on March 9. As in the past few years, the 3-day long celebration started with a party at the Art Bank to give an opportunity for the Laureates to meet each other, the Council Board Members and staff. Guests had the opportunity to view works created by each of the seven Laureates on display throughout the Bank. The seven Laureates for 2004 are Iain Baxter, Eric Cameron, Tom Hill, Istvan Kantor, Gary Neill Kennedy, John Oswald, and Ian Wallace. Five of these seven artists have works in the Art Bank collection.

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, Canada’s foremost distinctions for excellence in these artistic disciplines, were created in 1999 by the Governor General of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. The Canada Council funds and administers the awards.

Six prizes are awarded annually to visual and media artists for distinguished career achievement in fine arts (painting, drawing, photography, print-making and sculpture, including installation and other three-dimensional work), applied arts (architecture and fine crafts), independent film and video, or audio and new media. One prize is awarded annually for outstanding contributions to the visual and/or media arts in a volunteer or professional capacity. The value of each award is $15,000.

A peer assessment committee of senior visual and media arts professionals selected the 2004 laureates. The committee consisted of artists Micheline Beauchemin, Evergon, Edward Poitras, Tom Sherman and Takao Tanabe, and arts consultant Ian Lumsden.

For more information on the GGAVMA Awards or Laureates, please click on the following link:

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/pressreleases/co0406-e.asp