2022 Celebration for the Arts
Thank you to everyone who joined Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Calgary’s arts and business leaders at the 2022 Celebration for the Arts hosted by Mayor Gondek on Friday, November 4, 2022 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
More than 700 people were in attendance for an evening featuring emcee Tim Tamashiro, the Sheldon Zandboer Trio, musician Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Poet Laureate Wakefield Brewster, Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Sankofa Arts and Music Foundation, a massive choir composed of both youth and adult groups, and more.
The evening also recognized outstanding achievement in the arts with the presentation of the 2022 Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Awards. Mayor Jyoti Gondek congratulated the winners and spoke about the importance of arts and culture to the community for health and wellness, education, and a strong economy. “The arts matter. You matter,” she told the audience of artists, arts administrators and business leaders. “Let’s continue to advocate together because our future depends on it.”
This year, 51 outstanding artists and organizations were nominated, representing just some of the artistry that vitalizes our city every day. Recipients are selected by a jury of peers. Each Legacy Award winner received a $5,000 cash prize, which is funded by a contribution from a local philanthropist or organization with equal matching money from Calgary Arts Development.
We thank all the nominees and congratulate this year’s recipients:
2022 ATB Financial Healing Through the Arts Award recipient: Janey Luc-German
Janey Luc-German has volunteered her services in the past 15 years in promoting arts to various Calgary schools and communities, including running seven 5-session online workshops helping seniors combat loneliness through arts during the pandemic.
2022 CCIS New Canadian Artist Award recipient: Claudia Chagoya
Claudia Chagoya is a gifted Mexican interdisciplinary artist, a talented educator, and a skilled community connector whose abilities, activities, and heart will continue to be a benefit to Calgary.
2022 Mamdani Arts Leadership Award recipient: Stephanie Hutchinson
Stephanie Hutchinson works tirelessly to raise the profile of and give opportunities to Calgary musicians both at home and across Canada through her volunteer work with the YYC Music Awards.
2022 RBC Emerging Artist Award recipient: Sarah Uwadiae
Sarah Uwadiae is an early career Nigerian artist based in Calgary. Her practice includes set and costume design, filmmaking and story creation through multiple mediums and disciplines. Despite her background in theatre, her curiosity and drive to make art has inspired her to step out of the label of “designer” and embrace her whole self as a multidisciplinary artist.
2022 Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Manager Award recipient: Daniel Cardinal McCartney
Daniel Cardinal McCartney is being recognized for his outstanding work towards equitable working conditions for artists and arts administrators.
2022 SANDSTONE City Builder Award recipient: Casa Mexico Foundation
For 13 years, Casa Mexico has been constantly supporting the work of emerging and professional artists in the Calgary community, and as a result they have been able to foster the growth of multitudes of artistic careers in our city.
2022 Doug and Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award recipient: Sandra Sawatzky
Artist Sandra Sawatzky developed a film language of choreographed action to tell stories and embroiders epics with a small needle and miles of thread.
2022 TD Bank Group Indigenous Artist Award recipient: Danielle Piper
Danielle Piper is an interdisciplinary visual artist located in Mohkinsstsis, Treaty 7 territory. Danielle creates many kinds of visual art; and also teaches beading workshops, livestreams on twitch and sells her handmade crafts. As part of this award she worked for a three-month term as Indigenous Artist in Residence for the Calgary Public Library in early 2022.
For more information, read the event program here and the media release here.
Speakers, performers and award winners from the 2022 Celebration for the Arts
Clockwise from top left: 2022 Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Awards recipients with Mayor Jyoti Gondek; Calgary Arts Development President and CEO Patti Pon and ASL interpreter Janice Manchul; members of the Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble; emcee Tim Tamashiro with Chantal Gagnon leading a community drum circle; super choir with members from Revv 52, the Young Canadians, Kantorei Choral Society and Our Lady of the Rockies High School; and Poet Laureate Wakefield Brewster.
Photos by Motif Photography.
Video presentation of the 2022 Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Awards
You can learn more about the Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Awards at calgaryartsdevelopment.com.
Partners
Thank you to all of our sponsors of the 2023 Celebration for the Arts hosted by Mayor Gondek.
About the Celebration for the Arts
The Celebration for the Arts is a collaboration between Calgary Arts Development and Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
In consultation with business and cultural industry advisors, this event was developed as a new way of expanding the circle of Arts Champions in Calgary and building on the long history of bringing together the business and arts sectors.
The event celebrates the arts and how artists tell our stories, connect us and make meaning in our lives.
About Calgary Arts Development
As the city’s designated arts development authority, Calgary Arts Development supports and strengthens the arts to benefit all Calgarians. We invest and allocate municipal funding for the arts provided by The City of Calgary and leverage these funds to provide additional resources to the arts sector. Our programs support hundreds of arts organizations, individual artists, artist collectives and ad hoc groups in Calgary.
Event History
The Celebration for the Arts hosted by Mayor Gondek continues the annual tradition of bringing the business and arts sectors together to celebrate Calgary artists and arts organizations and recognize outstanding achievement. This event, held in collaboration with Mayor Jyoti Gondek, replaces the previous Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions, a collaboration between Calgary Arts Development and former Mayor Naheed Nenshi. It evolved from a longstanding event established by the Calgary Professional Arts Alliance (CPAA) in 1993 to bring Calgary’s business and art sectors together in recognition of the important relationships that foster artistic achievement in Calgary. The Mayor’s Luncheon for Business and the Arts, and later the Mayor’s Evening for Business and the Arts, enjoyed support from each civic administration since their inception. From 1993 to 2010, the CPAA and the Mayor’s Luncheon for Business and the Arts recognized over 30 outstanding arts and business partnership and over 20 emerging, established and innovative Calgary artists.
2021 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2020 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2019 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2018 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2017 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2016 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
2015 Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions
