Awards Archive (1995-2022)
The K.M. Hunter Artist Awards existed between 1995-2018. The awards were created by Martin Hunter and covered six disciplines; Dance, Literature, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. The Awards were conceived and executed with the help of Janet Stubbs and Arts Officers at the Ontario Arts Council.
Recipients were recommended for this award by the Ontario Arts Council juries who put names forward for juries specifically designed for the Award. The award was created to celebrate the artists in mid-career for their Artistic output. An archive of the recipients, including videos of their work, can be found below.
In 2021, the K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation established a new Indigenous Artist Award administered through the Toronto Arts Council Foundation.
With the assistance of the Work Integrated Learning team at Durham College under the supervision of media content provider Bernard Leroux, the video below was produced to promote the award and encourage Indigenous artists to apply.
2022
Congratulations to interdisciplinary performing artist and initiator Ange Loft, recipient of the 2022 Indigenous Artist Award. Ange’s achievements were celebrated on October 18, 2022 at ImagineNATIVE’s Welcome Gathering for their 2022 Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto. As part of this award, Ange Loft was invited to designate a professional artist mentor/Elder or mentee/protégée. Ange named Jesse Wabegijig for the mentee prize.
We would also like to acknowledge 2022 finalists Rebecca Baird, a senior Nehiyaw Cree/Métis mixed-media visual artist, and Sandra Laronde, a multidisciplinary artist working as a director, producer, choreographer, digital storyteller, and author.
2021
A big congratulations goes out to Greg Staats (@gclarks) recipient of the inaugural Indigenous Artist Award. We also would like to acknowledge Cynthia Lickers-Sage (@cyn_sage) and Joseph Sagaj (@josephsagaj), who were also finalists of the award for 2021.
2018
Dance: Christine Friday
Literature: Shane Book
Media Arts: Luo Li
Music: Allison Cameron
Theatre: Matthew Heiti
Visual Arts: Cree Stevens
2017
Dance: Apologia Velasquez
Literature: Marianne Apostolides
Media Arts: Elizabeth Lazebnik
Music: Jaron Freeman-Fox
Theatre: Claire Calnan
Visual Arts: Maura Doyle
2016
Dance: Penny Couchie
Film: Terril Calder
Literature: Zoe Whittall
Music: Anne Lindsay
Theatre: Charlotte Corbiel-Colman
Visual Arts: Christian Chapman
2015
Dance: Linnea Swan
Film: Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam
Literature: Kevin Connolly
Music: Kevin Chief
Theatre: Kate Story
Visual Arts: Barry Ace
K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation’s 20th Anniversary video
2014
Dance: Danielle Baskerville
Media Arts: Igor Drljaca
Literature: Emil Sher
Music: Anna Hostman
Theatre: Beatriz Pizano
Visual Arts: Stephen Fakiyesi
2013
Dance: Meagan O’Shea
Film & Video: Amanda Strong
Literature: Tanya Lukin-Linklater
Music: Raven Kanatakta Polson-Lahache
Theatre: Evalyn Parry
Visual Arts: Andrew Rucklidge
2012
Dance: Heidi Strauss
Dance: Darryl A. Hoskins
Film & Video: Ayelen Liberona
Literature: Shani Mootoo
Music: Paul Frehner
Theatre: Rosa Laborde
Visual Arts: Jean Marshall
2011
Dance: Valerie Calam
Literature: Jenny Sampirisi
Film & Video: Kazik Radwanski
Music: John Farah
Theatre: Anusree Roy
Visual Arts: Kerri Reid
2010
Dance: Bageshree Vaze
Dance: Kathleen Rea
Film & Video: Roberto Santaguida
Literature: Steven Heighton
Music: David Current
Theatre: D’Bi Young
Visual Arts: David Hannan
2009
Dance: Sylvie Bouchard
Film & Video: Juan Nicolas Pereda
Music: Dan Goldman
Literature: Kyo MacLear
Theatre: Nauni Parkinson
Visual Arts: Mary Catherine Newcomb
2008
Dance: Robert Glumbeck
Dance: Natasha Bakht
Film & Video: Daniel Cockburn
Literature: Jonathan Bennett
Music: Katrina Curcin
Theatre: Lisa Codrington
Theatre: Jonathan Garfinkel
Visual Arts: Julie Cosgrove
2007
Dance: Sasha Ivanochko
Interdisciplinary Arts: Isabella Stefanescu
Literature: Chris Chambers
Music: Omar Daniel
Music: Maryem Tollar
Theatre: Joseph Pierre
Visual Arts: Tor Lukasik-Foss
2006
Dance: Susan Burpee
Interdisciplinary Arts: Geoffrey Pugen
Literature: Matthew Tierney
Music: Anne Lindsay
Theatre: Sonja Mills
Visual Arts: Risa Horowitz
2005
Dance: Kate Alton
Dance: Michael Trent
Literature: Nila Gupta
Music: Quinsin Nachoff
Theatre: Marjorie Chan
Visual Arts: June Pak
2004
Dance: Kate Alton
Dance: Michael Trent
Literature: Nila Gupta
Music: Quinsin Nachoff
Theatre: Marjorie Chan
Visual Arts: June Pak
2003
Dance: Lesandra Dobson
Dance: Santee Smith
Literature: Sheila Heti
Music: James Rolfe
Theatre: Kelly McIntosh
Visual Arts: Greg A. Hill
Visual Arts: David McFarlane
2002
Dance: Yvonne Ng
Literature: Ken Babstock
Music: Eve Egoyan
Music: Martin Tielli
Theatre: Ross Manson
Visual Arts: Florencia Berinstein
Visual Arts: Kelly Mark
2001
Dance: Marie-Josée Chartier
Literature: Dennis Bock
Music: Phil Dwyer
Theatre: Julie Reitzel
Theatre: Peter Reitzel
Visual Arts: Janet Morton
Visual Arts: Lois Andison
2000
Dance: Kim Frank
Literature: Peter Darbyshire
Music: Alice Ho
Music: Andrea Koziol
Theatre: Erika Hennebury
Theatre: Ruth Madoc-Jones
Visual Arts: Shary Boyle
1998
Dance: Carmen Romero
Dance: Susanna Hood
Literature: Gary Barwin
Literature: Nalo Hopkinson
Visual Arts: Susan Dobson
1997
Music: Linda C. Smith
Theatre: Alon Nashman
1996
Media Arts: C. Grace Kary
Literature: Daniel Nearing
Literature: Norman Ravvin
Literature: Sasenarine Persaud
1995
Dance: Allen Kaeja
Visual Arts: Paul Safarian