Oshawa Culture Counts Awards
The Oshawa Culture Counts Awards celebrate and honour the creative and cultural achievements of the community.
The City of Oshawa is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Culture Counts Awards!
2019 Winners:
Professional Artist Award: Grant Cole
Grant Cole was born in Oshawa, Ontario. He graduated from the University of Toronto’s Architecture Program and has demonstrated multiple creative talents throughout his career. A visual artist, a conceptual artist, and an established artist of design, he has proven his multi-faceted abilities through a comprehensive range of projects and roles. He has also demonstrated his dedication to collaborating with his community.
As the Branding Design Specialist for Top 5 Design, Cole has worked on projects including: branding for the 2019 Renascent Canada calendar of events, Rebranding: Oshawa Garden Services 60th year anniversary, and the ever-popular “My Oshawa Includes…” t-shirts. Cole was recently awarded by the Province of Ontario for “Outstanding Volunteerism” for dedication to his community.
His genuine interest, extensive knowledge and wide-ranging experience within the creative arts sector, and his desire to enrich and develop culture in Oshawa is evidenced by his involvement in the Durham College Fine Arts Advisory Board and participation as a respected judge for 4th year Ryerson Fashion Design students. Furthermore, Cole acted as the Director of the popular non-for-profit downtown art project, Space Invaders Inc., from 2014-2015 which earned the reputation of being Durham Region’s largest cultural festival and economic development initiative. He designed the innovative festival catalogue and communications strategy for the festival. In 2018, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery exhibited his paintings in a show entitled, “Parade of Life” which expressed Cole’s inspired look at the Thomas Bouckley Collection of historical photographs from Oshawa’s rich and varied history - a true testament and tribute to Cole’s hometown.
Cole has maintained a connection with the arts through his work as an Artist and Branding Design Specialist. Through his practice and participation in regional exhibitions, festivals, academic enterprises, etc. Grant Cole has contributed significantly to the landscape of the Visual Arts in Oshawa. He is supportive of other artists’ practices and is generous with his time and enthusiasm in bolstering the identity and pride of Oshawa that prove to be pivotal in expanding the City’s reach beyond its borders into the province and country.
Emerging Artist Award: Joaquin Manay
Joaquin Manay, AKA, Joey, AKA “Urubeats”, is a prolific and enthusiastic Oshawa-based emerging vocal and visual artist. Born in Uruguay in 1991 and settling in Canada in 2003, Manay earned his BA in Visual Arts from Brock University in 2013 and graduated from the Visual Effects post-graduate program at George Brown College in 2017.
Manay has worked as an exhibiting artist, instructor, and performer. As an artist, he strives to achieve personal development by exercising various methods of creation. These include visual arts integrated with traditional, digital and 3D media as well as motion and sound.
He has exhibited at Unity Charity, Art Gallery of Ontario, The Station Gallery, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Turn-Around Project, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Beatbox Canada, Durham Art Gallery, and the City of Oshawa. Manay continually explores new methods of creating and is passionate about inspiring others to explore their own creativity. His impact on his students is evidenced in his work as a part-time Professor at George Brown College teaching 3D visualization. He is currently working as a CG artist for The Vanity VFX – a collective of visual artists, colourists and motion designers who produce visual effects and motion graphics.
With his passion for art and music, Manay began beat-boxing at the age of 13 after a classmate introduced him to the art of vocal percussion. In 2009, he participated in his first Beat-box battle hosted by Sick Sound Syndrome. He has participated as one of the top 16 Beat-boxers in Canada for four consecutive years. “Urubeats” will be performing at the RMG First Friday on March 1st, 2019!
Innovation and Creation Champion Award: Laura Suchan
Laura Suchan has been a part of Oshawa’s heritage sector since 1989 when she first began working at the Oshawa Museum. Laura earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Trent University, majoring in Anthropology, and earned a Master of Arts degree from York University, majoring in History. Suchan has worked as an historian, consultant, public speaker and is a self-proclaimed graveyard enthusiast.
For over 25 years, Laura has written business plans and balanced the budget for the Oshawa Historical Society, which manages the Oshawa Museum – the epicenter of Oshawa’s history and heritage. Beyond her fiscal responsibilities, she has taken her passion for local history and contributed to and authored four publications. Laura has a great interest in and knowledge of cemeteries and gravestone iconography. In 2005, Laura developed a classification system for 19th Century Ontario gravestones which allowed for a more systematic approach to the transcription and preservation of gravestones, and this work led to the publication of her first book, Memento Mori: Classifying Nineteenth Century Ontario Gravestones in 2009. Through her books, articles and international conferences, Laura has taken Oshawa’s history and raised its profile beyond the traditional museums sector.
As Executive Director, Laura has led the Oshawa Museum through three decades of progress, supporting the staff and encouraging participation and engagement in the heritage sector. This has, in effect, raised the profile of the Oshawa Museum and the work the museum does in the community and beyond. Her interest in women’s history led to her co-founding the Women’s HERstory Connection of Durham Region. Perhaps the most pivotal moment of her career came on December 17th, 2003 when Guy House suffered a fire. Laura oversaw the museum through and unthinkable disaster and has shared the lessons learned countless times amongst museum professionals. She has become a resource for other museums for disaster preparedness.
Laura is the longest-standing employee of the Oshawa Historical Society and her contributions to Oshawa’s local heritage sector are paramount to the growth of Oshawa as a cultural centre. She has led the organization through growth, been a mentor to new generations of museum professionals, and acted as a constant source of assurance through challenging times.
2018 Winners:
- Professional Artist Award: Ronald Lambert
- Emerging Artist Award: Crown Lands
- Innovation and Creation Champion Award: Mary Krohnert and the LivingRoom Community Art Studio
Winners for each category will be awarded at the Oshawa City Council Meeting on Monday, March 18, 2019.
Join us for a special program at The RMG's First Friday's on Friday, March 1, 2019 to honour the Winners!
The winners from each award will receive a $200 honorarium.
Individuals, collectives and/or organizations can be nominated or apply for three categories:
| Oshawa Culture Counts Professional Artist Award |
| This Award will recognize an established artist of any arts discipline (includes performing, visual, cinematic, design, architecture and literary arts) who has demonstrated creativity, originality, professional maturity and artistic leadership in the community.
The following criteria will be used to select award recipients:
|
| Oshawa Culture Counts Emerging Artist Award |
|
This Award will recognize an artist in the early stages of their career in any arts discipline (includes performing, visual, cinematic, design, architecture and literary arts) who is both skilled and determined to advance their artistic capabilities. This individual understands the value of their gift within the community, and leverages these skills to inspire and enrich the lives of fellow citizens. This individual is between 12 to 30 years or has begun their artistic practice within the past 5 years. The following criteria will be used to select award recipients:
|
| Innovation and Creation Champion Award |
| This Award honours individuals, collectives and/or organizations in the creative and cultural industries who have created or enhanced an event, product, program or partnership in the past year. The award recognizes work that is unique, transformative, and positive in its impact on arts, culture, and heritage in Oshawa.
The following criteria will be used to select award recipients
|
View the 2019 Culture Counts Awards Nomination Form.
Eligibility
- Nominees must be a current or former resident of the City of Oshawa, work in the City of Oshawa, or collaborate with an Oshawa-based organization.
- A nominee may be the recipient of only one award per year.
- City of Oshawa staff are not eligible for an award, but may nominate individuals.
- An individual cannot be nominated posthumously.
Review Process
For each category noted above, City staff will develop an evaluation matrix and guideline for assessing the awards recipient. Applicants will be required to demonstrate their artistic merit, critical acknowledgement of the work/ initiative, evidence of recognition by the local community, and describe their career path/ organizational background and association to the arts discipline/ initiative. A sub-committee comprised of members of the Cultural Leadership Council will jury the applications and select the award recipients.
Background
In February 2014, City Council approved the Culture Counts: Oshawa's Arts, Culture and Heritage Plan. Developed through in-depth community and stakeholder consultation, the plan provides Oshawa City Council, City staff and the community with a set of six strategic directions and action items to strengthen and encourage growth in the sector.
The fourth strategic direction entitled "Build a Strong, Vital and Connected Arts, Culture and Heritage Sector," recommends "the creation of a civic arts, culture and heritage award program."
In our inaugural year of the awards program, the City of Oshawa will present three awards to community members. The awards program is called the Culture Counts Awards in acknowledgment of the plan that suggested their creation.