Richmond artist Margaret Dragu has been named as one of the eight winners of the 2012 Governor General's Awards.
The $25,000 award recognizes career achievement in the visual and media arts by Canadian artists. The awards were presented today (Tuesday) in Toronto by the Canada Council for the Arts.
"This is a tremendous and deserved honour," said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
"It's a tribute to an incredible life in art that has been characterized by excellence, diversity and longevity."
From contemporary dance to burlesque to rap, from solo performance art to multidisciplinary collaborations and from political activism to commentaries on motherhood, Dragu's work has followed a remarkable arc that now spans more than 40 years.
She has presented work in galleries, museums, theatres, nightclubs, libraries, universities, parks and parade routes throughout Canada, the USA and Europe.
Dragu is also a film and video artist, writer, blogger, choreographer, actor, radio broadcaster, fitness instructor and famous cleaning lady, having led a unique labour protest at the Ontario Legislature where participants scrubbed, swept and dusted the entrance.
"I am so very pleased that Margaret has been given this prestigious award which recognizes her immense talent and contributions to the discipline of performance art," said Lynn Beavis, Richmond Art Gallery director and the person who nominated Dragu for the award.
"She has gained the respect of her peers and the many non-artists with whom she works. She really is a national treasure and it is wonderful that she is being honoured in this way."
A resident of Richmond's Finn Slough, Dragu was one of the inaugural winners of the annual Richmond Arts Awards in 2009 for Artistic Innovation. In 2008, the Richmond Art Gallery hosted her exhibition "Marginalia: Getting Out of the House" with artist Pam Hall, a Canadian coast-to-coast collaboration that explored connection, community, feminism and domesticity.
The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are Canada's foremost awards for excellence in these artistic disciplines. The prizes are awarded annually to visual and media artists for distinguished career achievement in visual arts, architecture, independent film and video, or audio and new media.
