The Toronto Arts Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards.

The Toronto Arts Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Toronto Arts Foundation Awards. This year's awards, to be distributed at the 4th Annual Mayor's Arts Awards Lunch, include the Arts for Youth Award, Toronto Arts and Business Award, RBC Emerging Artist Award, Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition and the William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto's Cultural Life. Deadline for nominations is June 30th.

To submit a nomination, please download the nomination form and eligibility criteria below.

Form

TAF Awards Nomination Form.pdf 43.38 kB

Award Descriptions

Arts for Youth Award – a $15,000 cash prize established in 2007 by Martha Burns, Jim Fleck and Jim Pitblado, this award celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging Toronto youth in the arts.

Toronto Arts and Business Award – celebrates a local business which has made an important contribution to the arts in Toronto through innovative, transformative and entrepreneurial partnerships. .Established in 2006, this award is presented in partnership with The Globe and Mail, Business for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Foundation. In addition to a work of art, the recipient of this award will be recognized for their achievement in the Report on Business section of The Globe and Mail.

RBC Emerging Artist Award – a $7,500 cash prize presented to an emerging Toronto artist working in the new media or performing arts discipline in celebration of current accomplishments and future potential. In addition, finalists will receive $1,000 each. Established in 2006 by RBC Foundation, this award is intended to support the development or completion of new work.

Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition – a $10,000 cash prize presented to an individual, ensemble or organization to recognize creative, performing, administrative, volunteer or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life. This award was established by the Volunteer Committee of Roy Thomson Hall in 1984 to recognize and thank the community that supported the conception, building and establishment of the new concert hall. In 2002, the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall asked the TAF to manage the award.

William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto’s Cultural Life – a $5,000 cash prize presented to an individual performer, teacher, administrator or creator in any arts discipline, including architecture and design, whose work is a celebration of life through the arts in Toronto. Established in 1996, this award is funded through an endowment made possible by private donors who wished to celebrate and remember the life of William Kilbourn who died in 1995. Kilbourn was a writer and teacher who spent seven years as a member of Toronto City Council, and served as Toronto Arts Council president from 1982 to 1984.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

Individuals:

  • must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, who have demonstrated an ongoing association with Toronto and who have contributed significantly to the arts and culture of Toronto
  • must be living at time of selection
  • may not nominate him/herself for the award and may only receive the award once (this does not preclude a recipient from being considered for a different TAF award in the future)
  • are not eligible to receive TAF awards while serving as board or committee members of the TAF or Toronto Arts Council.

Organizations and Collectives:

  • must be headquartered in Toronto and have a significant portion of its activity taking place in the city and have contributed significantly to the arts and culture of Toronto.
  • are only eligible to receive an award once (this does not preclude a recipient from being considered for a different TAF award in the future)

Toronto Arts and Business Award:

  • Open to businesses of any size operating in Toronto
  • Businesses or business foundation supported by corporate funds may be nominated.
  • May only receive this award once
  • Must be nominated by a representative of a Toronto based arts organization

No person or organization may be selected for more than one TAF award within any given year.

Selection Process

A jury of up to 12 members will review candidate profiles and make a recipient recommendation for each award to TAF Board of Directors, which will make final determinations. Jury members must have recognized expertise, prestige, credibility and experience along with a sense of history and perspective. Each jury is comprised of participants who are practitioners of the arts, organizers, programmers, producers, curators, critics, commentators and lay specialists. TAF will endeavour to ensure that the majority of jury members are arts and culture professionals. Nominations through this process are received from the public.

Requirements

For Toronto Arts and Business Award

  • On a separate page, please describe in no more than 250 words, why this nominee should be considered for this award.
  • List any other arts organizations which would support this nomination
  • Please note that nominees will only be contacted if selected as one of the three finalists for the award. More information will be requested from the three finalists.

For All Other Awards

  • Rationale for Nomination: On a separate page please describe why this nominee should be considered for this award.
  • CV: In order for the nomination to be considered complete, you must also attach a curriculum vitae or résumé of the nominee.
  • Biography: All nominations must include a nominee biography up to 100 words in length. This biography will be used in press releases, on the website and in the program.
  • Artist’s Statement: All RBC Emerging Artist Award nominations must include a brief statement outlining how the award would serve to further the career of the nominee.

Support Material: Where possible, it is recommended that you illustrate the nomination by including support documents. This can be in the form of print material (such as press clipping) or audio/visual items (VHS tape, CD ROM, DVD, URL, etc). If you are uncertain about the compatibility of your electronic materials, please contact the Foundation. Support material will be available for pick-up at TAF beginning Friday, October 30, 2010. Support material not collected by Friday, November 26, 2010 will be discarded.

Please note that nominees will only be contacted if selected for the award short-list.