Ottawa, October 26, 2006 - The Saidye Bronfman Award, Canada's foremost award for excellence in the crafts for the past 30 years, will soon become part of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Robert Sirman, Director of the Canada Council for the Arts, announced Wednesday night that The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation has provided the Council with a $1.5 million endowment to fund and administer the awards as part of the annual Governor General's prizes. He made the announcement at the official opening of UNIQUE! 30 Years of Outstanding Crafts, an exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization featuring the work of Canadian craft artists, including all Saidye Bronfman Award recipients.
The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts were created in 1999 by the Canada Council and then-Governor General Roméo LeBlanc to celebrate the achievement of artists in all areas of the visual arts, as well as in film, video, audio and new media. In the past, seven awards were given each year: six for distinguished career achievement by Canadian artists and one for outstanding contributions to voluntarism, philanthropy, board governance, community outreach or professional activities. As of March 2007 the Saidye Bronfman Award will become an eighth Governor General's Award, reserved exclusively for craft artists. The name "Saidye Bronfman Award" will be retained under the overall banner of the Governor General's Awards.
Mr. Sirman said several craft artists had won Governor General's Awards over the years, but there was no guarantee that a craft artist was represented every year.
"Adding the Saidye Bronfman Award to the existing Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts will ensure that Canada's outstanding craft artists are honoured every year as part of this country's most prestigious awards in the visual and media arts," he said. "We are proud that The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation has entrusted the ongoing administration of this award to the Canada Council."
The Saidye Bronfman Award was created in 1977 by the Bronfman family to honour their mother on her 80th birthday. In recent years, the administration and promotion of the Award have been handled through a partnership among The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, the Canada Council and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Stephen R. Bronfman, president of the Foundation, described the inclusion of the Saidye Bronfman Award in the Governor General's Awards as "a fitting tribute to both my grandmother's legacy and to Canadian achievement in the fine crafts."
"There is no higher artistic tribute in Canada than a Governor General's Award," he said. "This new arrangement will guarantee that the Saidye Bronfman Award will have the prestige and visibility that our craft artists so greatly deserve."
The Canadian Museum of Civilization will continue to support the crafts through programs, exhibitions and research and will continue to acquire works by recipients of the Saidye Bronfman Award for its outstanding collection through an acquisition fund provided by the Foundation.
"The CMC has been vital in increasing the profile of the fine crafts in Canada and the Foundation applauds its major contribution over the past 30 years," Mr. Bronfman said.
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