News Release: Distinguished Artist Award increases to $50,000

Edmonton, AB — Beginning in 2027, The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts
Awards Foundation is increasing the prize amount for the Distinguished Artist Award from
$30,000 to $50,000 for each of the three recipients, strengthening its support for Alberta’s artists
and reinforcing their value to our province.

The Distinguished Artist Award recognizes exceptional achievement and significant artistic
impact provincially and beyond. This increased prize amount provides additional meaningful
financial support alongside the honour of receiving the award, affirming the value of artists and
their work.

“We believe in the importance of recognizing and celebrating Alberta’s outstanding artists who
enrich our lives in countless ways. This increase reinforces their immeasurable value to our
province, and we applaud all Alberta artists who dream, create, strive,” said Annemarie
Leenhouts-Petrov, Board Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation.

Since its first awards were presented in 2005, the foundation has awarded more than $1.8 million
to 29 distinguished artists, 94 emerging artists, and 10 Creative Encouragement Award recipients
from across all arts disciplines. Through its Emerging Artist and Distinguished Artist awards, the
foundation recognizes artistic promise and excellence, supporting artists at different stages of
their careers.

“It is hard to overstate the value and importance of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts
Award. It has lifted our artistic spirit and propelled our work through the affirmation of our peers
and our audience, and it has humbled us to be counted among such amazing talent,” said Pete
Balkwill from Old Trout Puppet Workshop, Distinguished Artist Award recipient. “In this way, we are driven to work harder and to reach further to push the limits of art in Alberta.”

Nominations for the 2027 Distinguished Artist Awards will open the week of November 23, 2026.
Information about the awards and nomination process is available at artsawards.ca.

Additional Quotes from Distinguished Artist Recipients

“The arts in Alberta nurture a distinctive and effervescent joy that cannot be measured,
but that transcends customs, borders, geography, and history."
—Aritha van Herk, 2013 Distinguished Artist

“‘For an artist to be recognized is to be given the fuel to keep burning.’ This is precisely
what the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards do. They keep the artistic creative soul alive in a
world that is often deaf to the toll of personal sacrifices that great art, a hard taskmaster,
demands."
—Frances Ginzer, 2015 Distinguished Artist

“Recognizing the distinction of Alberta’s artists is a way of recognizing Alberta itself since
art reflects our province—both back to ourselves and out to the world…”
—Alice Major, 2017 Distinguished Artist

“I believe the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards are important to the
rejuvenation of a diverse Alberta, Canadian and international creative culture.”
—Walter Jule, 2019 Distinguished Artist

“The Lieutenant Governor's Distinguished Artist Awards demonstrate that long-term
funding shows commitment to the arts and is integral to Alberta's cultural development,
helping maintain the richness of our arts culture.

“The Award was not only an honour, but it has also allowed me to consider and imagine
larger, more ambitious projects.”
—Rita McKeough, 2025 Distinguished Artist

About the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation
Established in 2003, the foundation is an independent award-granting organization that
celebrates and champions the province’s professional artists. Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor
serves as the foundation’s patron, elevating the prestige of the awards and drawing attention to
the artists and their work.