Mayor's Arts Awards Lunch October 17

2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards To be Announced on October 17^th At Mayor’Äôs Arts Awards Lunch

Winners of the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards will be announced on Friday, October 17, 2008 at the third annual Mayor’Äôs Arts Awards Lunch at the Arcadian Court hosted by broadcaster, writer and musician Jian Ghomeshi and Mayor David Miller. The awards celebrate artists, cultural professionals and arts supporters from every creative discipline who have made significant contributions to Toronto’Äôs artistic and cultural life. Five awards, with cash prizes totalling $35,000, will be presented at the ceremony.

’ÄúWith this election we’Äôre hearing a great deal of discussion about the role that the arts play in the life of this country ’Äì both in the economy and as our expression of our identity,’Äù said executive director Claire Hopkinson. ’ÄùCelebrating our artists and celebrating the many people who make art happen is an important political statement.’Äù

The room will reflect the gamut of artistic activity in Toronto including filmmaker Patricia Rozema and TIFFG Executive Director Michˆ®le Maheux, music makers Joe Sealy, Justin Rutledge, Andrew Burashko and Patricia O’ÄôCallaghan; literary lights Alana Wilcox and Kerri Sakamoto; theatre luminaries Martha Burns, Ted Dykstra, d’Äôbi.young.anitafrika, Albert Schultz and Franco Boni; visual arts mavens Sara Diamond, Jenn Goodwin and Peter Kingstone; arts city builders Adonis Huggins, Ruth Howard and Tim Jones; and Karen Kain, Mavis Staines and Peggy Baker from the world of dance.

The ceremony will also feature a special performance by the Regent Park School of Music choir with diva Jackie Richardson, one of Canada’Äôs foremost singers of gospel, blues and jazz, led by choral director Wayne Strongman.

As previously announced, the 2008 Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards finalists are:

Arts for Youth Award: Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People (LKTYP); Mammalian Diving Reflex (MDR); and SKETCH Working Arts for Street-Involved and Homeless Youth.

The Globe and Mail Toronto Business for the Arts Award: BMO Financial Group; Concord Adex Developments; and Torys LLP;

RBC Emerging Artist Award: Actor, writer, producer and director Greg Atkins; pianist Glenda del Monte Escalante; and director and dramaturge Weyni Mengesha;

Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition: artistic director and conductor David Fallis; New Music Arts Projects (NMAP); and jazz musician and composer Richard Underhill;

William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto’Äôs Cultural Life: Clay and Paper Theatre founder David Anderson; Marc Glassman, community builder, arts journalist and film curator; and playwright, theatre administrator and arts activist Thomas Hendry.

For complete bios and background on the artists visit www.torontoarts.org/awards.html

Founding Event Sponsor RBC Financial Group and Media Sponsor The Globe and Mail are joined by this year’Äôs Benefactors which include: Aeroplan, BMO Financial Group, The Dalton Company Ltd, The Daniels Corporation, Diana Bennett & Spencer Lanthier, B + H Architects, M. Joan Chalmers C.C., O.Ont, City of Toronto Cultural Services, Dancap Productions Inc., The Drake Hotel, George Fierheller, Roger and Kevin Garland, George Brown College, The George Partnership, Great-West Life Assurance Company, Donald K. Johnson, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, John D. McKellar, NOW Communications Inc., Ontario College of Art & Design, RBH Inc., Sun Life Financial, and Vector Aerospace.

Patrons include: Monica Armour, Cannon Design, Concord Adex Developments Corp., Creative Class Group, IBI Group, International Book Productions Inc., Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Sam Sniderman & Janet Mays, The Arts Advocate and TMX Group.

The 2008 individual award sponsors are Martha Burns, Business for the Arts, Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, Jim Fleck, James B. Pitblado, RBC Financial Group, and

The Globe and Mail.

Toronto Arts Council Foundation, existing to provide the creative opportunity for donors to support the arts in Toronto, believes that a great city demands great art, and by supporting, celebrating, financing and advocating for Toronto’Äôs local artists, we’Äôre improving the quality of life of all Torontonians. Although separate entities, the Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council Foundation benefit by being run as sister organizations, ensuring close contact with the arts sector in Toronto and the continuous awareness of needs across the community.

For more information on the awards and the work of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation, please visit www.torontoarts.org/awards.html