The City of Richmond and Richmond Arts Coalition are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Richmond Arts Awards!
Now in its 12th year, the annual Richmond Arts Awards recognizes the achievements and contributions to the arts community by Richmond residents, artists, business leaders, educators and change-makers. The list of finalists reflects the vibrancy of Richmond’s established rich cultural scene, as well as the city’s rising stars and emerging creative talent.
“The arts are vital to the overall health and resiliency of our community,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “This has been demonstrated now, more than ever, as we see artists and arts organizations put their creative talents towards everything from supporting our front line workers to lifting our spirits in a time of uncertainty.”
This year, the selection committee reviewed 65 applications to determine the recipients in each of the six categories. The 2020 Richmond Arts Awards recipients are:
Artistic Innovation (Tie)
Direct Theatre Collective
Direct Theatre Collective is Richmond’s newest independent theatre company. They received critical acclaim and praise for their inaugural project Hysteria, which was created for the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2018, and developed further in 2019 for their first independent theatre season. This award-winning show is due for an inaugural performance in Richmond in the near future. The company is spearheaded by Artistic Director Jill Raymond alongside founding directors Isa Sanchez and Jenna Grubaugh.
Dawn Lo
This freelance illustrator’s works and artist talks have been featured throughout Richmond in locations that include the Richmond Public Library, Children’s Arts Festival and Thompson Community Centre.
Arts Education
Richmond Music School
Established in 1979, this non-profit association is committed to a high standard of professional music instruction with a focus on accessibility.
Business and the Arts
Jason Ko/Viva Pharmaceutical
This business has supported arts and youth through annual sponsorship of the Richmond Media Lab since 2015.
Cultural Leadership
Terry Point
As a Musqueam cultural educator and advisor and Aboriginal student support worker with the Richmond School District, Terry Point has worked collaboratively with numerous cultural projects and locations in Richmond including Terra Nova Park, Richmond Arts Strategy Task Group, Richmond Public Library, Children’s Arts Festival and Richmond Art Gallery.
Volunteerism
Ray Chin
This long-time volunteer has been involved in a variety of local arts and culture initiatives including Richmond Maritime Festival, Branscombe House Artist-in-Residence program and arts projects at numerous community centres.
Youth Arts
Rotem Levy
Levy is digital and visual artist, and leader in the Richmond Youth Media Program and Youth Art Mart. She also works on Foundry Richmond’s communication team and is currently studying 3D animation at Emily Carr.
The 2020 Richmond Arts Awards ceremony, originally scheduled to take place in Council Chambers on May 12, was cancelled due to COVID-19. While in-person celebrations are not feasible at this time, it remains important to maintain this annual tradition to recognize the contributions of arts organizations and artists in Richmond.
In lieu of the ceremony, each recipient will be profiled in an online campaign over the summer highlighting their work and contributions to the Richmond art community via the @HowArtWorks Instagram account. This initiative will be supported by the Arts Awards’ long standing partner, Richmond News. The honourees will also be invited to join future recipients, in person, when the ceremony can, once again, be held in person.
The Richmond Arts Awards are presented in partnership with the Richmond Arts Coalition with promotional support from Richmond News. For more information, visit www.richmond.ca/artsawards.