Toronto Arts Foundation (TAF) invites you to submit nominations for the 2012 Arts Awards. These awards celebrate artists, cultural professionals and arts supporters from every creative discipline. This awards program is designed to highlight the significant contributions made by our city’s cultural leadership. In addition to a total of $41,500 in cash prizes, all recipients will receive an original work of art by a Toronto artist commissioned by Toronto Arts Foundation. All finalists will also receive a professional portrait by Denise Grant Photography, and be featured in the Finalist Portrait Series.
This year, the Arts Awards Lunch will be taking place at the beginning of summer on June 21st, 2012.
This gala event previously ocurred in the fall, so please note the early call to submit your nomination:
The deadline for nominations is Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 5 pm.
Nomination forms, criteria and awards adjudication policies for the 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards are available here.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Three finalists will be chosen for each of the five 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards
Arts for Youth Award – a $15,000 cash prize established in 2007 by Martha Burns, Jim Fleck and Jim Pitblado, this award celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging Toronto youth in the arts. In addition, finalists will receive $2,000 each. This Finalist Award was established in 2010 through the generous donation of Diana Bennett and Spencer Lanthier.
The Toronto Arts and Business Award – celebrates a local business which has made an important contribution to the arts in Toronto through innovative, transformative and entrepreneurial partnerships. Established in 2006, this award is presented in partnership with Business for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Foundation.
RBC Emerging Artist Award – a $7,500 cash prize presented to an emerging Toronto artist working in any discipline in celebration of current accomplishments and future potential. In addition, finalists will receive $1,000 each. Established in 2006 by RBC Foundation, this award is intended to support the development or completion of new work.
Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition – a $10,000 cash prize presented to an individual, ensemble or organization to recognize creative, performing, administrative, volunteer or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life. This award was established by the Volunteer Committee of Roy Thomson Hall in 1984 to recognize and thank the community that supported the conception, building and establishment of the new concert hall. In 2002, the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall asked the TAF to manage the award.
William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto’s Cultural Life – a $5,000 cash prize presented to an individual performer, teacher, administrator or creator in any arts discipline, including architecture and design, whose work is a celebration of life through the arts in Toronto. Established in 1996, this award is funded through an endowment made possible by private donors who wished to celebrate and remember the life of William Kilbourn who died in 1995. Kilbourn was a writer and teacher who spent seven years as a member of Toronto City Council, and served as Toronto Arts Council president from 1982 to 1984.
The winner and two finalists for each award are selected by an arts saavy, multi-disciplinary jury comprised of practitioners, organizers, programmers, producers, curators and critics. Jury members are each chosen for their contribution of expertise, sense of history, unique perspective and range of experience. The jury will review candidate profiles and make a recipient recommendation for each award to Toronto Arts Foundation Board of Directors, who will make final determinations.
Winners of the 2012 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards will be announced on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at the Arts Awards Lunch Gala celebration.
NOMINATION FORMS may be downloaded from the Toronto Arts Foundation website here.
Toronto Arts Foundation exists to provide the creative opportunity for donors to support the arts in Toronto. TAF believes that a great city demands great art, and by supporting, celebrating, financing and advocating for Toronto’s local artists, we’re improving the quality of life of all Torontonians. Although separate entities, the Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation benefit by being run as sister organizations, ensuring close contact with the arts sector in Toronto and an ongoing awareness of activities and needs throughout the community. For more information on the awards and the work of the Toronto Arts Foundation, please visit www.torontoarts.org/awards.html