This yearB次元官网网址檚 Governor GeneralB次元官网网址檚 Performing Arts Awards will be a star-studded affair, with internationally renowned actors Ryan Reynolds, Catherine OB次元官网网址橦ara and Tantoo Cardinal among the laureates.
Vancouver-born Reynolds, whose big-screen credits include B次元官网网址淭he Proposal,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淕reen LanternB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淒eadpool,B次元官网网址� will receive the National Arts Centre Award, which recognizes work by an artist or company in the past performance year.
Meanwhile, Toronto-born comedy great OB次元官网网址橦ara of B次元官网网址淪chittB次元官网网址檚 CreekB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪CTVB次元官网网址� fame will get a lifetime artistic achievement award at the ceremony in April.
Getting the same honour is First Nations actress Tantoo Cardinal, who was born in Fort McMurray, Alta., and stars in the series B次元官网网址淪tumptown.B次元官网网址�
Other 2020 lifetime artistic achievement winners include Vancouver-born composer Alexina Louie, who has written for the stage and screen, and Quebec-based Innu singer-songwriter Florent Vollant, who has worked extensively with Indigenous musicians.
Vollant has lived a life largely on the road, performing concerts and blazing a trail for Indigenous musicians, and said heB次元官网网址檚 happy the honour gives him a chance to thank those around him who have supported his nomadic lifestyle.
B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 do it alone,B次元官网网址� the father of five said in a phone interview from a Montreal airport while on his way to Sept-Iles, Que., where he grew up on the Maliotenam reserve.
B次元官网网址淚 need my family, I need my children. And when people said, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檒l give you something to help you to continue,B次元官网网址� I say: B次元官网网址楾hank you to my family B次元官网网址� thank you to all of them who spent time on the road with me.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
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But while he was excited about the honour, VollantB次元官网网址檚 thoughts were also on the divide between WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n hereditary chiefs and federal and provincial leaders over the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
B次元官网网址淒o we choose economy or life B次元官网网址� for our children, for the next generation? ItB次元官网网址檚 what IB次元官网网址檓 thinking about. It makes me sad,B次元官网网址� said Vollant, whose songs touch on themes including diversity and inclusion.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 happy when they give me a chance to say thank you,B次元官网网址� Vollant added. B次元官网网址淏ut IB次元官网网址檓 also thinking about the tensions we have, actually. IB次元官网网址檓 thinking about my brothers and my sisters and all the people across the country.B次元官网网址�
VollantB次元官网网址檚 four-decade career has seen him perform in the Juno Award-winning First Nations folk-rock duo Kashtin, with fellow Innu musician Claude McKenzie, and then as a solo artist.
HeB次元官网网址檚 recorded six albums, founded a recording studio for Indigenous musicians, created a songwriting circle for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, and collaborated with artists including Robbie Robertson.
HeB次元官网网址檚 also a passionate advocate for the preservation of QuebecB次元官网网址檚 waterways.
The lifetime artistic achievement list is rounded out by Montreal-based dancer-choreographer Zab Maboungou, who pioneered a contemporary movement technique that draws on the rhythms of traditional Central African music and dance.
The recipient of the 2020 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for voluntarism in the performing arts is ballroom dancer/human resources consultant Lynda Hamilton, who hails from British Columbia.
The awards also include a mentorship program in which past recipients offer guidance to Canadian artists in mid-career.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 participants are playwright Suzanne Lebeau as the mentor and theatre artist Marie-Eve Huot as the protege.
The 2020 laureates will be honoured at three events in Ottawa, culminating in the Governor GeneralB次元官网网址檚 Performing Arts Awards Gala at the National Arts Centre on April 25.
B次元官网网址淥ur 2020 laureates are national heroes whose art inspires, informs and delights,B次元官网网址� said a statement from Douglas Knight, chair and CEO of the Governor GeneralB次元官网网址檚 Performing Arts Awards Foundation, and Anik Bissonnette, co-chair of the foundation.
Created in 1992, the awards are presented annually to B次元官网网址淐anadians whose accomplishments have inspired and enriched the cultural life of our country,B次元官网网址� says a news release.
Nominations are submitted by members of the public.
Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press
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