OTTAWA — Vancouver-bred contemporary artist Kenneth Lum, whose works have challenged notions of identity in galleries and public spaces across the globe, is among this year’s winners of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
The Canada Council for the Arts revealed the eight honourees Wednesday who will each receive a $25,000 prize for their contributions to Canadian creativity.
Lum, who currently serves as the chair of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design in Philadelphia, won the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for his body of work spanning photography, performance art and public installations over three decades.
Fellow lifetime laureates include Toronto’s Deanna Bowen, Dana Claxton of Vancouver, Ruth Cuthand of Saskatoon, Jorge Lozano Lorza also of Toronto and Michael Fernandes of East Dover, N.S.
Fibre artist Anna Torma of Baie Verte, N.B., received the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in fine crafts, while Mississauga, Ont.-based cultural administrator Zainub Verjee won the Outstanding Contribution Award for her artistic practice and policy work.
An awards ceremony will be held in Edmonton on July 3, and the winners’ works will be displayed at the Art Gallery of Alberta through the summer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2020.