Nominations for Hamilton Art Awards open until December 8

Nominations are open for the 2024 City of Hamilton Arts Awards, which has been recognizing talent and accomplishment in the art community for nearly 50 years.

One of the oldest arts awards in Canada, the City of Hamilton Arts Awards have been recognizing talent and accomplishment in the art community since 1976.

Each year, citizens nominate artists for consideration by independent juries of arts professionals who choose notable artists and arts community leaders to honour for their excellence and contributions to Hamilton.

The 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award and Creator Award recipients will be presented with a cash award and a signature medallion. Arts Champions will receive a special gift of recognition. All awards will be presented during Hamilton Arts Week June 5-14.

One Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented ($2,500), recognizing living artists and arts professionals who have contributed substantially to the artistic vitality of the city over the course of a career, and have inspired others through their leadership, creativity and artistic excellence. These individuals’ experience and impact may be local, national or international in scope.

Up to eight Creator Awards ($2500 per award) will be granted, with these awards recognizing living artists, arts professionals and artistic collectives – working in any artistic discipline and at any career level – who have shown artistic excellence and/or innovation that contributes to artistic growth in the city, progresses the artform and expresses the cultural vitality and diversity of Hamilton’s art scene.

Emerging artists and bands/art collectives are eligible for nomination for this award.

The Arts Champion Award will honour as many as four people who are outstanding supporters of the arts in Hamilton as volunteers, advocates, or board members.

This is a non-monetary award and recipients will be given a special gift of recognition. This award is open to adults and youth over 14 years old.

You can download the nomination package,  which outlines the eligibility criteria, submission requirements and how nominations are scored and selected through the peer adjudication process. Plain text version of the nomination package also available. Nomination packages can be printed to submit by mail or in-person drop-off.

Nominations are due by midnight on Friday December 8 and can be submitted online, by mail or in-person.

You can also drop off or completed nomination package to:

City of Hamilton Arts Awards; Attn: Jen Anisef
Tourism and Culture Division; 28 James Street North, 2nd floor, or the Visitor Experience Centre on the 1st floor.

The 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented last June to artist and theatre designer Judith Sandiford and playwright and director Ron Weihs, who have been creating original theatre and promoting the arts for thirty years and are the people behind Artword Theatre in Hamilton.

Five names were shortlisted for the award.

Judith Sandiford and Ron Weihs

Creative Awards in 2023 were presented to designer, artist, entrepreneur and Indigenous fashion pioneer Angela DeMontigny; Pushcart-nominated writer and editor Anuja Varghese; comics artist David Collier; dancer/choreographer and Arzoo Dance Theatre artistic director Deepti Gupta; the Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra; artist Kareem–Anthony Ferreira; artist Nathan Eugene Carson; the Open Hearts Art Theatre; and emerging artist Sarah Sproule.

Thirty names were short-listed.

Four Arts Champions, from six finalists, were also honoured in 2023, including poet, writer and community arts organizer Chris Pannell; music, theatre and arts events social media promoter Helen Graham; Filipinas of HamOnt co-founder Jessica Vinluan; and Hamilton Blues Lovers creator Luis Pereira.