Visual artists in Guelph and surrounding areas: You have the opportunity to develop and enrich your professional artistic practice this fall through the Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Award. Whether you’re hoping to attend a course, conference, apprenticeship, field trip, or any other learning experience that can be shown to contribute to your personal artistic growth, the GAC Jane Graham Memorial Award can help make it happen.
The Award is granted annually to a visual artist who can demonstrate a commitment to advancing their artistic practice through an upcoming professional development opportunity. It was established in 2005 by the Graham family following the passing of Jane Graham, a highly regarded local artist, loving wife and devoted mother of two.
Jane was a watercolour painter who graduated from Fine Art at the University of Guelph in 1983. She went on to pursue a career in teaching, where she taught as an elementary school French teacher in Guelph and surrounding areas. Over the years, she taught at Ospringe, Laurine Avenue, and Gateway Drive Public Schools. Jane was actively involved with the arts community in Guelph and displayed her work locally in solo and group exhibitions.
“Anna’s Garden ΙΙ” by Jane Graham
“A talented visual artist known and respected for her local cityscapes and garden scenes, Jane Graham also took an active part in many community arts ventures, including two that came under the umbrella of Guelph Arts Council: the launch of the Guelph Artisans store in the early 1990s as well as the steering committee established in 2000 to begin working towards a Guelph community visual arts centre,” explains Sally Wismer, longtime Guelph resident and former Executive Director of Guelph Arts Council.
Sally worked personally with the Graham family after Jane’s passing to establish the Jane Graham Memorial Award. “It was following Jane’s untimely death in 2005 [that] her family came to Guelph Arts Council to see if donations could be made to honour her memory and her contributions, and at the same time help local artists to further their careers. The result was more than $10 000 in donations and the establishment of the Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Fund at the Guelph Community Foundation. Ever since, funds generated each year from this fund have allowed Guelph Arts Council to offer an annual award for a visual artist(s) to pursue professional development opportunities that will contribute to individual personal artistic growth.”
All visual artists in the area are encouraged to apply. Online applications for the Jane Graham Memorial Award are available on our website. The deadline for submission is September 27, 2014 at 4 p.m. Please visit guelpharts.ca for full details.
By Noelle Lalonde
