artsnb announces the winners of the 2017 Lieutenant-Governor’s Awards for High Achievement in the Arts.
(Fredericton, 23 August 2017) – The New Brunswick Arts Board (artsnb) is pleased to announce the winners of the Lieutenant-Governor’s Awards for High Achievement in the Arts. These awards recognize and celebrate outstanding New Brunswick artists and writers who have distinguished themselves by the excellence of their achievements and their contribution to the arts in the province.
The 2017 recipients are:
Peter Powning, Markhamville – Laureate in Visual Arts Since 1970, Peter Powning has lived and worked as an artist in the hills of southern New Brunswick. While Powning’s award-winning work is shown internationally, it is imbued with qualities distilled from a life lived close to the silence, space and seasonal rhythms of his home and of the fields, forests and shorelines of Canada’s east coast. Known as an inveterate experimenter and risk-taker, he works in a wide range of media, often combining glass, cast bronze, stone, ceramics and steel. In addition, he produces large photographic prints of ephemeral works and is engaged in large public commissions. Powning has been awarded the Governor General’s Bronfman Award as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick.
Stephen Tobias, Saint John – Laureate in Performing Arts Stephen Tobias is a theatre artist, cultural promoter and arts policy advisor who has spent the bulk of his career in Saint John. A graduate of the Conservatory Acting Program at Dalhousie University, Tobias co-founded the Saint John Theatre Company in 1990 in order to provide opportunities for local theatre practitioners. Since then, he has led the company as a board member, director, actor and fund-raiser and has managed to grow the company into a major force in provincial theatre production. Recent accomplishments include a $1.8 million capital campaign, the establishment of New Brunswick’s first Fringe Festival, creative collaborations of new works of the theatre, and an international tour of a Saint John Theatre Company production to Konstanz, Germany.
Robert Pichette, Moncton – Laureate in Literary Arts (French*) Born in Edmunston, Robert Pichette is the author of more than twenty books addressing the history of Acadie and New Brunswick. His texts are characterized by their rigor in both subject matter research and mastery of the French language. A model of the classical humanist, he was the Deputy Minister of Premier Louis J. Robichaud and the first Director of New Brunswick’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs. He co-authored the New Brunswick Official Languages Act and created the flag of the province. Pichette is Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, Officer of the National Order of Merit and the Legion of Honor (France), Knight of the Order of the French Academic Palms, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Honorary Colonel of the Louisiana State Guard, and has been a member of the Order of New Brunswick since 2006.
New Brunswick Arts Board’s Carol Collicutt stated “As Chair of artsnb, I would like to congratulate this year’s winners of this prestigious award, Peter Powning, Stephen Tobias, and Robert Pichette. Each of the 2017 laureates has contributed so much to the diverse cultural fabric of New Brunswick, and I am extremely pleased that they have been honoured. We all benefit from the presence of these fine artists and it is fitting that they are recognized with the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Arts.”
Gala and Ceremony Awards will be presented to the laureates by the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick at a gala held at the Lieutenant-Governor’s residence in early November. More details about the ceremony will be released at a later date.
About the Awards
The Lieutenant-Governor’s Awards for High Achievement in the Arts are designed to recognize the outstanding contribution of artists to the arts in New Brunswick; to recognize and reward artists who have distinguished themselves by the excellence of their achievements and their contribution to the literary arts*, performing arts (dance, music, and theatre), and visual arts (architecture, craft, media arts, photography and visual arts); and to establish standards of artistic excellence for New Brunswick residents. The Awards are in the amount of $20,000 each and a maximum of three are awarded each year. Funding is provided by the Arts Development Trust Fund (lottery) and the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture through their Book Policy Program.
* Awards in Literary Arts alternate between French and English from year to year.
For more information, visit: http://artsnb.ca/site/en/awards/
The New Brunswick Arts Board is an arm’s length arts funding agency with a legislated mandate to facilitate and promote the creation of art as well as administering funding programs for professional artists in the province.
A New Brunswick Arts Board Media Release
