The Hnatyshyn Foundation has established a series of awards for performing artists of Ukrainian-Canadian descent and for Ukrainian artists, including those displaced by the war. The Foundation will offer twenty awards of $10,000 each across ten categories – from traditional Ukrainian choral music and dance to modern vocal and classical performance.
Applications for the “Ukraine – Heritage, Spirit and Future” awards will be accepted online until September 19, 2022 on the Hnatyshyn Foundation website.
Award recipients will be selected by a jury of performing arts experts. Results will be communicated in the fall of 2022. Prizes will be awarded in early 2023. A gala fundraiser concert, featuring successful artists, will take place on September 16, 2023 at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. The proceeds from the concert will be directed to restore or rebuild a cultural center or cultura space in Ukraine.
The award program is focused on Ukrainian-Canadian and Ukrainian artists 35 years of age and younger. The initiative was supported by the Embassy of Ukraine to Canada.
“This special awards program recognizes the deep roots of the Hnatyshyn family in both Canada and Ukraine. With Russia’s war against Ukraine, we wanted to use our 20th anniversary year to celebrate the vibrancy and resilience of Ukrainian culture, its identity and spirit – here in Canada and in Ukraine. We want our program to strengthen ties between artists through the unique power of arts,” said Gerda Hnatyshyn, the wife of the late Ramon (Ray) John Hnatyshyn, Canada’s 24th Governor General.
The Hnatyshyn’s served at Rideau Hall from 1990-1995. During their tenure and, through the Hnatyshyn Foundation, they established a strong legacy of commitment to artistic talent recognizing that the arts are critical to building national identity and international understanding.
“We are grateful to the Hnatyshyn Foundation for recognizing and celebrating the rich Ukrainian cultural legacy in Canada and for providing solidarity and support to Ukrainian artists even when russia wages unjustified war against Ukraine, its people, history and culture,” said Yulia Kovaliv, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada.
