Announcing the Nominees of the 9th Annual Okanagan Arts Awards

 

The Arts Council of the Central Okanagan is pleased to announce the nominees for the 9th Annual Okanagan Arts Awards.

The Okanagan Arts Awards were created by ARTSCO in 2007 to celebrate artistic and creative excellence and achievement of artists, in all disciplines. By publicly acknowledging the work of individuals and organizations, the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan places excellence in artistic practice, front and centre as an integral part of our vibrant community.

“The nominations were phenomenal this year”, say Katie Brennan, Executive Director of the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan. “We went from 41 nominations in the Central Okanagan last year to 113!”

Only 3 nominees in each category will be going through as finalists to the Okanagan Arts Awards Gala Evening, held Saturday, May 28th, 2016 at the Habitat in downtown Kelowna.

Finalists will be announced sometime next week.

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And the nominees are….

VISUAL ARTS

Constance Bachman	Laurie Koss	Heather Lynne Parlane
Kelsie Balehowsky	Suzanne Le Stage	Sarah Parsons
Rose Braun	Wanda Lock	Bramble Lee Pryde
Jody Bruce	Linda Lovisa	Shayla Ritchie
Connor Charlesworth	Jolene Mackie	Grant Robinson
Danielle Englesby	Moyna Macdonnell	Laura Widmer
Jane Everett	Don Makela	Bobby Vandenhoorn
Erica Hawkes	Brandy Masch	Connie Vetter-Johnson
Natasha Harvey	Aaron Metz	Meghan Wise
Asher J Klassen	Carrie Mitchell	Nicole Young	Kyle Zsomber

DANCE

Kinshira Performance Troupe	Loretta Lachner
Lucy Hazelwood (LU KI DANCE PRODUCTIONS)	Janessa McGrath	Samantha Sambrielaz

MUSIC

Stephen Buck	Andrew Judah	Darren Williams
Kelly Derrickson	Adam Meachem	Wild Son
Alexandra Babbel, Opera Kelowna	Hilary Ross (Syren and the Waves)

LITERATURE

Ronald Derrickson	Cherie Hanson
Lesley Anne Evans	Ashley Little	Michael V. Smith

THEATRE

Cori Derickson	Robert Mason-Brown – Fred Skeleton Theatre Company
Kinshira Preformance Troupe	Shangning Zhu
David Kopp – Kelowna Comedy	Randall J. Robinson

TIME BASED MEDIA

Benjamin Musgrave

Todd Ramsay

Nick Schafer – Fresh Finish Media

APPLIED ARTS

Cortnee Chulo		Bri Stein
Art Felt Collaborative

EMERGING ARTIST

Kelsie Balehowsky	Asher J Klassen	Janessa McGrath	Connie Vetter-Johnson
Connor Charlesworth	Jolene Mackie	Benjamin Musgrave	Nicole Young
Danielle Englesby	Tascheleia Marangoni	Hilary Ross (Syren and the Waves)	Shangning Zhu

INNOVATION

Opera Kelowna	Bramble Lee Pryde	Darren Williams
Cool Arts	Hilary Ross (Syren and the Waves)	Kyle Zsombor
Shimshon Obadia	Connie Vetter-Johnson

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Opera Kelowna	Jazz Jam	Lake Country Art Gallery
Cool Arts	Kelowna Arts Council	Okanagan Symphony Orchestra
Federation of Canadian Artists – Central Okanagan Chapter	Sncəwips Heritage Museum	Summer Arts Scene for Youth (SASFY)	Suk’ʷtəmsqilxʷ West Kelowna Arts Council

ART & BUSINESS

Brazen Edwards – Ellis Art Studio	Jenn Kyllo – Pinot & Picasso	Bramble Lee Pryde – Wolf & Sadie
Cedar Creek Estate Winery	Linda Lovisa – New Moon Art Gallery	Bri Stein – Bri Stein Artistry
Carrie Mayhew – Ginger Creative

BUSINESS SUPPORTER

Float Space	The Heritage – Retirement Living
Investors Group	Raymond James Ltd	Rileys Pub