The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation announced their 25th-anniversary recipients of Canada’s most prestigious performing arts awards. The laureates of the 2017 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement are:
Jean Beaudin – Film and television director and screenwriter.
Hailed as a consummate director of Quebec literature, Jean Beaudin has delighted film and television audiences throughout his career as a director and screenwriter. From his early days at the National Film Board to his monumentally successful historical film dramas and TV series, his work stands out for its authenticity, simplicity and visual beauty, and has been instrumental in transmitting our cultural heritage and shaping a distinctive voice in Quebec and Canadian cinema.
Michael J. Fox, O.C. – Actor, writer, producer and humanitarian
Michael J. Fox is a respected and accomplished screen actor, best known for his award-winning work in the television series Family Ties and Spin City and the Back to the Future film trilogy. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000. He has received numerous humanitarian awards and has become an outspoken and inspiring advocate for people living with Parkinson’s.
Brigitte Haentjens – Theatre director and artistic director
Passionate about language and literature, keenly interested in issues of identity, sexuality and power, Brigitte Haentjens is known for her dazzlingly original, avant-garde productions and her thoughtful and poetic approach to contemporary theatre practice. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, she has directed some 60 productions and garnered a host of awards and honours. Her remarkable achievements as a stage director stand alongside her outstanding work as a leader of major arts institutions.
Martin Short, C.M. – Actor, writer and producer
Acclaimed stage and screen actor Martin Short is known for his wacky comedic characters and dead-on impressions, notably on Second City Television (SCTV) and Saturday Night Live. In a career spanning over 40 years, he has delighted audiences across North America and beyond, and made laughter an important Canadian export.
Yves Sioui Durand – Writer, theatre and film director, actor and producer
Writer, director, filmmaker and actor Yves Sioui Durand is a pioneering figure in contemporary Indigenous theatre and the founder of Ondinnok, Quebec’s first French-language Aboriginal theatre company. In a career spanning over 32 years, he has become known for his transcultural exploration of the contemporary Aboriginal experience through richly allegorical mythology. His artistic creativity updates an age-old cultural legacy for a contemporary audience while respecting ancestral codes, and as an artist, he believes passionately in the reconstruction of Aboriginal cultures through art.
The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts
William H. Loewen, C.M.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist William H. (Bill) Loewen has provided leadership, direction and financial support to the performing arts for over three decades. A passionate music lover, he has a close association with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, to which he and his wife Shirley have donated over a million dollars through the W.H. & S.E. Loewen Foundation. Other organizations he has supported include the Manitoba Opera, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Manitoba Choral Association, the Winnipeg Chamber Music Association, and the St. Norbert Arts Centre.
Photos: Benoît Aquin, Michele Bouvier, Mark Seliger, Sam Jones, Denis McCready, Mathieu Rivard
