Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions raises $25,000 for local arts projects and recognizes outstanding Calgary artists
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
February 20, 2014
Cultural Leaders Legacy Artist Award recipients each receive $5000 prize
(Calgary AB) – The second annual Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions, organized by Calgary Arts Development and the Office of the Mayor, took place earlier today for a sold-out crowd. Each of the 675+ attendees directed their portion of the proceeds to a local arts project currently raising funds on crowdfunding platform InvestYYC.com, resulting in a total investment of about $25,000.
The event, hosted by Dave Kelly, featured a keynote panel discussion between Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Calgary Stampede CEO Vern Kimball and theatre artist Rebecca Northan, exploring how the arts contribute to many different aspects of a vital city. Karen Ball, former Executive Director of Calgary 2012, announced this year’s recipients of the Cultural Leaders Legacy Artist Awards:
▪ Dean Bareham (ATB Financial Healing Through the Arts Award)
▪ Roberto Rozo (Calgary Catholic Immigration Society New Canadian Artist Award)
▪ Chris Cran (Doug & Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award)
▪ Paul Welch (Enbridge Emerging Artist Award)
▪ Antyx Community Arts Society (SANDSTONE City Builder Award)
▪ Sharon Stevens (William MacLachlan Community Beacon Award)
Winners received a $5000 cash prize, and Chris Cran also received a residency at the Banff Centre as the winner of the Doug & Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award.
Each Legacy Award is funded by a $10,000 contribution from a local philanthropist or organization with equal matching money from Calgary 2012, and will be awarded annually for four years with winners determined by a jury of peers. This is the second year for all the awards except for the ATB Financial Healing Through the Arts Award, which was presented for the first time at this year’s lunch.
The event was sponsored by TELUS and also included a youth arts showcase featuring many of Calgary’s outstanding youth performers, including singers, musicians, circus artists and dancers.
About Calgary Arts Development
Calgary Arts Development plays a leadership role to promote, foster and direct investments that develop the capacity of Calgary’s arts sector to achieve public and artistic impact. As the city’s designated arts development authority, we are a central hub that learns about, promotes, connects, advocates for, and leads strategic initiatives in the arts to animate Calgary as a vibrant cultural centre. Calgary Arts Development allocates municipal funding for the arts provided by The City of Calgary through granting programs that support operations and innovation for more than 190 arts organizations in Calgary.
-30-
Further Information
Cadence Mandybura
Communications Liaison, Calgary Arts Development
Phone: 403.264.5330 ext. 201
Email: cadence.mandybura@calgaryartsdevelopment.com
