Government of Yukon
Archives
FOR RELEASE #06-240
December 7, 2006
Fourteen Yukon Artists Receive Advanced Artist Awards
WHITEHORSE - Fourteen Yukon artists will share $40,000 in funding to assist with their personal artistic development, announced Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor.
"Yukon government is pleased to support the development of these very talented people," Taylor said. "This award is granted to artists who have been recognized by their peers, and who will continue to play a significant role in Yukon arts and culture."
One of the artists to receive funding is James Kirby, a Whitehorse sculptor. Kirby, who has lived in Yukon for 28 years, currently does most of his work in stone and mammoth ivory. He recently purchased a casting foundry and plans to use his award to gain experience casting sculptures in bronze.
"Receiving this award is a wonderful surprise," Kirby said. "It's always a challenge to begin working in a new medium. This will give me the time I need to develop my skills with bronze, which offers greater freedom and flexibility than stone." Kirby's new bronze works will be exhibited in a show at the Yukon Arts Centre in 2008.
The Advanced Artist Award program is funded by Lotteries Yukon and is administered by the Department of Tourism and Culture. The program is assessed using a peer review process.
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List of Advanced Artist Award Fall 2006 recipients attached.
| Contact: | |
| Albert Petersen Cabinet Communications 867-633-7961 albert.petersen@gov.yk.ca |
Michael Edwards A/Communications, Tourism & Culture 867-667-8947 mike.edwards@gov.yk.ca |
ADVANCED ARTIST AWARD RECIPIENTS, NOVEMBER 2006
| Applicant | Project Name and Description |
Allocated |
| Keitha Clark | To mentor with respected Yukon fiddlers | $2,500 |
| Nita Collins | To advance study and professional development in Middle Eastern Dance | $2,500 |
| Kathleen Décosse | To record a demo CD of three original songs | $2,500 |
| Lisa Turner | To create an interactive multi-media installation | $2,420 |
| Leigha Wald | To work with a choreographer to create and perform a solo piece | $1,000 |
| Robert John Hilliard | To develop technique, learn to chart music, compose and record original music | $2,500 |
| Kate Weekes |
Toward a private mentorship with songwriter Roy Forbes |
$3,500 |
| Jesse Mitchell | To create large-scale drawings on paper exploring automatic drawing techniques | $1,030 |
| Chris Scherbarth | To create a new body of work exploring how music composition choreographs the player | $2,500 |
| James Kirby | To explore new mediums in sculpture bronze casting and larger format sculpture | $5,000 |
| Valerie Salez | To produce video, animation and projection works for a collaborative piece with Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon | $2,050 |
| Claire Eamer | To prepare submission-ready drafts of two novels for children | $2,500 |
| Mitch Miyagawa |
To create a collection of non-fiction stores about contemporary Yukon |
$5,000 |
| Al Pope | To research and begin writing a new novel set in 1942, during Alaska Hwy. construction | $5,000 |
TOTAL: $40,000