The City of Richmond congratulated the winners of the ninth annual Richmond Arts Awards, announced at a ceremony May 16, in Richmond city hall council chambers.
The 2017 award recipients included:
• Mr. Tony (Tony Bowden) for the Arts Education Award, which recognizes an individual or organization whose achievements and contributions to arts education have been significant and far reaching.
• Border Free Bees for the Artistic Innovation Award, which recognizes an individual artist or organization producing visionary, creative work, exhibiting innovation within their arts discipline or bringing a new cultural experience to Richmond.
• Lansdowne Centre for the Business and the Arts Award. This award recognizes a business that has made a significant contribution to the arts in Richmond by supporting a Richmond-based artist or arts organization through sponsorship, philanthropic and/or volunteer service.
• Nan Baardsen for the Volunteerism Award, which recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the arts in Richmond by supporting a Richmond-based artist or arts organization through volunteer service.
• Anna Toth for the Youth Arts Award, honouring Richmond’s young artists, musicians and cultural contributors.
• Community Arts Council of Richmond for the Cultural Leadership Award, which recognizes an arts professional or organization as a leader in their arts discipline, as well as their organization stewardship and their contribution to Richmond’s cultural development.
This year’s selection panel included educator Debbie Tobin; vocational counsellor and winner of last year’s Arts Education Award Mumtaz Khokar; Vancouver International Airport art curator Rita Beiks; and local filmmaker and writer Jordan Paterson. The selection panel reviewed 89 nominations for consideration.
Established to recognize the achievements and contributions to the arts by Richmond residents, artists, educators, organizers and business leaders, the Richmond Arts Awards are administered by the City of Richmond, developed in partnership with the Richmond Arts Coalition, and are sponsored by the Richmond News.
