Ontario government recognizes outstanding artists and arts organizations

Ontario celebrated the winners of the 2014 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts at a gala event at Roy Thomson Hall on Sept. 16.   The annual awards program honours Ontario’s outstanding artists and arts organizations.

Lee Maracle, a critically acclaimed poet, novelist, performance storyteller and scriptwriter, is the winner of the Individual Artist Award. Maracle is currently a Traditional Teacher at the University of Toronto’s First Nations House and an instructor at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre.

Le Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario won the Arts Organization Award. The professional theatre company focuses on contemporary works from playwrights and artists from Ontario and across Canada and has been developing noteworthy contemporary theatre for over 40 years.

The Emerging Artist of the Year award went to Cheri Dimaline, an author of two books of literary fiction. She is also a magazine editor and community development consultant for Canadian Indigenous communities.

Recognizing Ontario’s outstanding artists and art organizations supports the government’s plan to invest in people and recognizes the significant contribution artists make to our quality of life, culture and our economy.