Awards in Visual and Media Arts

Award-winning filmmaker and media artist Midi Onodera from Toronto has been making films and videos for more than 35 years.

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts are Canada’s foremost awards for excellence in these artistic disciplines.

Throughout a career spanning six decades, Jack Sures from Regina, has shaped ceramics in Canada, both through his creativity, innovation and mastery of the craft, and through his influence on countless students.

Adrian Stimson’s wide-ranging practice includes performances, paintings, installations, photography and sculpture. Mr. Stimson is a member of the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation in Alberta, where he lives and works.

The work of photographer and video artist Sandra Semchuk from Vancouver has been informed by her Ukrainian-Canadian autobiography and dialogue across generations, cultures and with the natural world.

For several decades, Spring Hurlbut, visual artist from Toronto, has committed herself to making contemplative work that speaks unsentimentally about the inevitable mortality that awaits us.

Wyn Geleynse, media artist from London, Ontario, is considered a pioneer in multimedia artistic practices in Canada, with a career in film and video that spans nearly three decades.

Over the course of four decades, visual artiste Bruce Eves from Toronto, has explored the interconnectedness of masculinity, aging, bias, history and data collection.

The Governor General presented the Outstanding Contribution Award to Glenn Alteen from Vancouver. For over 30 years, curator, writer and program director of grunt gallery, Mr. Alteen has played a central role within the British Columbia and Canadian arts communities.

Simon Brault, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts, also delivered remarks at the beginning of the ceremony.

The Governor General presented the 2018 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. At the beginning of the ceremony she delivered remarks congratulating the recipients.

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts are awarded annually to visual and media artists for distinguished career achievement in a broad spectrum of fields, including photography, performance art, experimental film and video, new media, and metalsmithing.