Mamdani Arts Leadership Award

Celebrating the transformative power of the arts

Mamdani Arts Leadership Award

The Mamdani Arts Leadership Award is a $5,000 cash award to recognize and reward the integral role of volunteer board members who lend their expertise, talent and time to supporting the work of arts organizations and festivals that make Calgary a vibrant and creative city. This award honours an arts volunteer board member who goes above and beyond to support the logistics, programming, operations and/or culture of the organization(s) they choose to support. 

The award will be presented to the recipient at an event celebrating the arts on October 4, 2024. This award was established by Strategic Group and Calgary 2012 (a legacy project of Calgary’s year as a Cultural Capital of Canada). 

About Strategic Group 

Strategic Group owns and develops office, retail and apartment properties across Canada. Based in Calgary, Strategic Group has proudly sponsored the Mamdani Arts Leadership Award for three years. The award is named after the Mamdani family — champions of Calgary’s arts and culture sector. 

Award Rules & Criteria

Nominees for the Mamdani Arts Leadership Award must meet all the following criteria: 

  • Be a Calgary resident volunteering in Calgary since the beginning of the nomination year (2023/24). 
  • Must have volunteered a minimum of 40 hours on the board of one or more arts organizations in the nomination year (2023/24). 

Nomination packages must include the following: 

  • One (1) copy of the nominee’s artist resume or curriculum vitae (CV). 
  • One (1) copy of a 30-word synopsis of why the nominee has been nominated (may be used for publication and media purposes in the event the nominee is selected to receive the award). 
  • Example(s) demonstrating the work of the nominee as it pertains to this award (maximum five individual examples). Please note the example(s) must be submitted in the following file formats, and each file can be a maximum of 3MB: PDF, DOC, DOCX. 
  • One (1) letter of nomination (1,000 words or less) from a peer or colleague within the artist’s field of work. 
  • One (1) copy of the Nomination Declaration form, available for download on the award web page, signed by both the nominee and nominator. 

The awards jury will be composed of peers and community members based in Calgary. Jury members are not disclosed in advance of the official announcement of recipients by Calgary Arts Development.  

In the event of a perceived conflict of interest, an alternate will replace the jury member in question. The jury will operate with strict confidentiality. All decisions are final. Calgary Arts Development may screen nominations to verify eligibility. 

The award recipient will be selected based on the following criteria: 

Impact on the Organization – Maximum of Four Points 

  • How has the nominee made a measurable impact on the organization they volunteer for? 
  • How has the nominee’s expertise, enthusiasm and dedication positively changed the culture and/or operations of the organization they volunteer for? 

Peer Recognition – Maximum of Three Points 

  • Is the nominee recognized by their peers in the organization as an outstanding volunteer who goes above and beyond? 

Time Dedicated – Maximum of Two Points 

  • How much time has the nominee volunteered and how has the nominee proven their dedication to continuing volunteering within the arts community? 

Special Considerations – Maximum of Two Points 

  • Are there any extenuating considerations that are not addressed by the criteria above? 

All nominators and nominees will receive acknowledgment of receipt by mail and email, and will be notified of whether their applications were successful. The recipient will be asked to keep the status of their nomination confidential until the official announcement of recipients by Calgary Arts Development and will also be asked to accommodate the filming of a recipient video. 

The deadline for uploading completed nomination packages is 4pm MT on April 22, 2024. Complete applications must be submitted through our online platform on or before the deadline. Incomplete or late nominations will not be accepted or considered.  

If you have nominated someone and did not receive acknowledgement of receipt or notification, please contact awards@calgaryartsdevelopment.com. 

Before submitting your nomination package, ensure that you have prepared: 

  • One (1) copy of the nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae (CV)). 
  • One (1) copy of a 30-word synopsis of why the nominee has been nominated. 
  • Up to five (5) examples demonstrating the work of the nominee and their suitability for this award. As few as one example is acceptable. 
  • One (1) copy of a letter of nomination (1,000 words or less) signed by the nominator. 
  • One (1) copy of the Nomination Declaration form, signed by both the nominee and nominator. 

Downloads

Guidelines PDF
Nomination Declaration Form

Submit Your Nomination

Submit your nomination

For more information about the Mamdani Arts Leadership Award, please email awards@calgaryartsdevelopment.com. 

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