A gathering of many of Canada’s most creative minds, the Mayor’s Arts Awards Lunch, hosted by Mayor David Miller, was created by the Foundation to celebrate Toronto’s finest artists, arts practitioners and arts supporters.
This festive celebration provides a platform for the distribution of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards, which honour exceptional citizens who have made a notable contribution to the arts through creation, performance, volunteerism and cultural leadership.
Five awards are presented annually, with cash prizes totalling $40,000.
Established in 1995, the Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards are the only civic awards that celebrate all artists from all arts disciplines. The inaugural Mayor’s Arts Awards Lunch, made possible by the support of Founding Partner RBC, was held at the Fairmont Royal York on October 5, 2006.
From 1995 to 2005, the Toronto Arts Council Foundation Awards were given to recipients every other year at a reception held at City Hall. For a complete history of awards and past recipients please go to the awards history page.
The nomination process for the awards opens each May. A jury of 12 members review candidate profiles and make a recipient recommendation for each award to the Toronto Arts Council Foundation Board of Directors.
Jury members recognize expertise, prestige, credibility and experience along with a sense of history and perspective. Each jury is comprised of artists, arts administrators, programmers, producers, curators, critics, commentators and patrons.
For more information on nomination procedures please
click here
