Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts

Eligibility

Eligible nominators (for all categories):

Nominators can be an individual, a group of co-nominators (up to 3 people), or the representative of an organization. All nominators must be:

• Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They do not need to be living in Canada.
• a recognized Canadian specialist in visual arts, media arts or fine craft.

Nominators may be from a different province, territory or field of practice than the candidate.

Restrictions

• Nominators may submit 1 nomination per category.
• Candidates may only be nominated in 1 category per year.
• Candidates may not self-nominate.
• Canada Council board members are not eligible during their term as members and for 6 months following the end of their term.

Eligible candidates

All candidates must:

• be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They do not need to be living in Canada.
• be living as of the nomination deadline date.

Artistic Achievement and Saidye Bronfman Awards

These awards are intended to honour individual achievement rather than the work of an organization, but it may also recognize artistic partnerships or small collectives in which each artist meets the eligibility requirements for the prize.

Candidates must be professional artists in visual arts, media arts or fine craft who:

• have maintained a practice in their field over a significant period of time
• have received national and/or international recognition
• have made a substantial contribution to both the historical development and contemporary practice of their field in Canada
• have created an outstanding and distinguished body of work in visual arts, media arts, or fine craft.

Outstanding Contribution Award

An individual or a group of individuals may be nominated for this award. Candidates must have made an outstanding contribution to contemporary Canadian art in visual arts (including architecture), media arts or fine craft, in a volunteer or professional capacity.

Ineligible candidates

Professionals working in the field of design, including graphic, industrial or fashion design, are not eligible.

Summary

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts) are Canada’s foremost distinctions in visual and media arts. The awards were created in 1999 by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Governor General of Canada. Since then, the awards have celebrated Canada’s vibrant arts community and recognized remarkable careers in the visual and media arts. The Canada Council funds and administers the awards.

Up to 8 awards are given annually:

• 6 awards for Artistic Achievement in the visual (including architecture) and/or media arts
• 1 Saidye Bronfman Award in fine craft
• 1 award for Outstanding Contribution in the visual arts (including architecture), media arts or fine craft, by an individual or group in a volunteer or professional capacity. This contribution can be through philanthropy, board governance, community outreach activities, as the director of an organization, or as a curator, programmer, educator, critic or dealer/distributor.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

Required documents – What you need to submit

Please refer to the nomination forms for detailed instructions.

• Nomination statement (2 pages maximum)
• Curriculum vitae of candidate
• Written support material (as applicable)
• Digital support material (images, audio-visual, as applicable)

Nomination preparation

• The nominator is responsible for providing all the information and support material requested.
• The Canada Council will make eligibility decisions based on the information provided in the nomination.
• Submit only the material requested. Extra material will not be shown to the peer assessment committee.
• Carefully choose your support material as committee members have limited time in which to review each nomination.
• In addition to filling out your contact information in the nomination form, please ensure that the information is up to date on the Canada Council’s portal, if you have an account.

Resubmissions

• Nominators may submit a nomination for a specific candidate as many times as desired; resubmissions of nomination packages are encouraged.
• A nominator may use the same nomination package for up to 3 consecutive deadlines.
• Instructions on how to resubmit a nomination are provided to nominators in advance of the next competition deadline.