The City of Richmond and Richmond Arts Coalition are pleased to announce the six recipients of the 14th Annual Richmond Arts Awards.
Hosted by Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, the award ceremony took place at the Gateway Theatre on May 4 and marked a return to an in-person event after two years of online recognition for recipients.
“Richmond is proud to have a rich and vibrant arts community, and these awards highlight just a few examples of the creative talent that exists within our city,” Brodie says.
“Congratulations go not only to this year’s award recipients, but to everyone within our arts community as they inspire other current, new and emerging artists.”
The ceremony also celebrated the award recipients for 2020 and 2021, who were able to be recognized in front of a live audience.
“We really wanted to make sure we could honour the past recipients,” Community Cultural Development Program Manager Camyar Chaichian says.
The Richmond Arts Awards honours major contributions by individuals, organizations, and business to the arts; cultivates great visibility and understanding to the value of the arts; encourages excellence and builds new leadership within the arts community; and develops patrons for the arts.
“The awards themselves were designed to recognize not only the artists but also all the other people who make arts flourish in our community,” Chaichian says.
This year, 62 nominees were reviewed by a selection committee of community members to determine the recipients in six different categories.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2022 Richmond Arts Awards.
Artistic Innovation - Thomas Cannell
Thomas is a Coast Salish (Musqueam) artist. The recipient of a British Columbia Creative Achievement Award, his art is featured in galleries in Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle and has been included in touring exhibitions throughout North America as well as in catalogue publications.
Arts Education - Harry Yu
Harry has taught traditional Chinese painting to students of all ages for the past half-century and made numerous contributions to the city’s cultural community. Harry co-founded many clubs and associations in support of his chosen art form.
Business and the Arts - Mark Glavina, Phoenix Art Workshop
Mark has promoted the benefits of the arts through education and community engagement for more than 30 years. His focus in recent years has been to develop a comprehensive teaching philosophy for the fundamentals of art and visual literacy. In 1997, Mark opened Phoenix Art Workshop. He also organizes community events such as Chalk the Boardwalk and Grand Prix of Art.
Cultural Leadership - Mary Wilson, Richmond Black History Month
After years of travelling to other Lower Mainland communities for Black History Month events, Mary decided it was time to make something happen in the place she has called home for over 20 years. So, in 2016, Mary spearheaded the first annual Richmond Black History Month celebrations. By crafting and planning a diverse range of programming every year to educate, celebrate, and make community connections, Mary has significantly contributed to the city’s cultural development.
Volunteerism - Keiko Go
Keiko has left an indelible mark in Richmond through her extensive list of volunteer activities. Since 2008, she has been involved with the Obon Festival at the Steveston Buddhist temple. Every Spring, she organizes a concert to showcase the talents of Japanese musicians. More recently, Keiko has been writing a bi-weekly bulletin for Japanese-Canadian seniors to combat pandemic-related isolation.
Youth Arts - Megan Yung
Megan is an active contributor to Richmond’s arts community. In 2019, her work was selected for the 2019 Richmond Street Banner Contest, and she illustrated the Richmond Public Library’s 2019 Teen Summer Reading Challenge poster. Megan also became the youngest artist to be commissioned by the City of Richmond for her 2019 Richmond Maritime Festival poster design.
To learn more about the awards and this year’s winners, visit richmond.ca/ArtsAwards.
