Guelph, ON – September 16, 2020 – In memory of Guelph visual artist Jane Graham, Guelph Arts Council offers an annual award to a regional visual artist(s) to pursue professional development opportunities. The 2020 application deadline is Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 4:00 pm for paper applications and 11:59 pm for online applications. Any visual artist residing and actively practising in Guelph or Wellington County is encouraged to apply for opportunities that will be pursued after January 1, 2021. The award’s terms of reference and application instructions are posted at guelpharts.ca/resources-overview/gac-awards-bursaries. The award(s) will be announced in late fall 2020.
Jane Graham was a much loved and respected visual artist who lived and worked in the Guelph area for many years prior to her untimely death early in 2005. Working closely with the Graham family, later the same year Guelph Arts Council established a fund with donations made in Jane’s memory. The fund is managed by The Guelph Community Foundation. With annual fund revenue, Guelph Arts Council offers this award to support artists who wish to pursue opportunities that will contribute to personal artistic growth.
Annually, Guelph Arts Council appoints a volunteer award jury with representatives from the local visual arts community, past award recipients, Guelph Arts Council, and the Graham family. The jury reviews the applications and selects the award recipient(s).
Over the years, award recipients have included a textile artist, a potter, an audio-visual collective, a scientific illustrator, an artist blacksmith, printmaker, multidisciplinary artist, bead artist, art quilter, filmmaker, photographer, illustrator, and painters. All of these individuals have indicated that the award helped them take their artistic work to the next level.