Twenty local artists recognized with $15,000 prize

The Edmonton Arts Council, City of Edmonton, and Edmonton Community Foundation are pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund awards.

Twenty artists have been awarded a 2024 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (EATF) award. Each award is $15,000, for a total of $300,000.

​“For more than 25 years, EATF recipients have consistently shared how the award has positively impacted their artistic careers,” says Renée Williams, Executive Director of the Edmonton Arts Council. ​“With that legacy in mind, the EAC, in partnership with ECF, is honoured to celebrate the prolific artists who contribute to our city’s vibrant arts scene, which is enjoyed by diverse audiences.”

The Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (EATF) recognizes an artist’s work and contribution to the community. The $15,000 awards provide financial stability for artists to renew, develop, create or experiment. These awards are supported by the proceeds from the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund, held by the Edmonton Community Foundation.

“Thank you to the EATF for recognizing that supporting the infrastructure that surrounds artists is critical in sustaining a vibrant artistic community,” said recipient Jinting Zhao, founder of SHE‑Q Audio. ​“This recognition will further amplify SHE‑Q Audio’s work in advancing gender equity and inclusion and generate attention and opportunities for our city’s incredible producers and engineers.”

“I’m grateful to have received this award on the prairies, at home, nominated and supported by people who have seen something important or meaningful in my work,” said Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet, EATF recipient and multi-disciplinary artist. ​“This will help me to continue caring for my studio practice, so I can keep visiting and learning from my family, and just intentionally being here.”

“The EATF was established at Edmonton Community Foundation in 1997 with an initial gift of $100,000 from John and Barbara Poole,” Tina Thomas, CEO of ECF says. ​“Since then, the value of the fund has grown to $1.9 million and provided more than $1.2 million to support artists as they enrich our community in countless ways. This is a wonderful example of how endowments have incredible long-term impact on our city.” 

You can find more information about EAC grants and award programs on the EAC website. 

Recipients of the 2024 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund:

Ainsley Hillyard (she/​her) has an artistic practice that lies in the space between dance and theatre with a constant curiosity to tell stories through movement. As a choreographer, performer, educator and administrator she is committed to growing her local community through serving on non-profit boards and supporting other arts administrators, artists, and organizations. She aims to uphold Disability justice, including Deaf and Disabled artists and collaborators in all of her projects.

Annie Dugan (she/​her) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Firefly Theatre & Circus, a company dedicated to merging the spectacle of circus arts with an accessible theatrical narrative. Annie is also the founder and Executive Producer of the Alberta Circus Arts Festival.

Arnel Ethier (he/​him) is a recording engineer, producer and the owner of Royal Studio where he has created a local creative hub for artists from all musical genres and backgrounds.

Chenoa Anderson (she/​her) is a flutist who has commissioned and premiered dozens of solo and ensemble pieces and is an active improviser who has worked with musicians, dancers, and spoken word artists. In addition to her performing and teaching career, Chenoa has been the General Manager for New Music Edmonton since 2012.

Conor McNally (he/​him) is a Métis filmmaker who creates works through a combination of instinct, and hands-on trial and error. His filmmaking practice is grounded in the Cree concept of wahkohtowin – the concept of relationality.

Daniel Akira Stadnicki (he/​him) is an award-winning, mixed Japanese-Canadian drummer, scholar, and popular music educator. Specializing in adapted drum kit for a wide range of folk, roots, and traditional artists, Daniel holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology. Currently, he teaches percussion at MacEwan University and serves as the Director of Sound Communities Inc.

Heather Shillinglaw (she/​her), an artist and member of Cold Lake First Nations, sews familial ethnographies into maternal landscapes layering history and fragility with the land-mouse-eagle perspectives. Over her career, Shillinglaw has shared land-based teachings in art workshops to thousands of students of all ages.

Joan Marie Galat (she/​her) is a bestselling, award-winning author with more than 30 titles for children and adults and translations in seven languages. She has travelled across Canada and internationally to nurture literacy, cultivate creative expression, and foster communities where books are cherished.

Jinting Zhao (she/​her) is a producer, songwriter, vocalist, engineer and organizer. Based at Up In Arms Studios, she was chosen for the 2024 Women in the Studio production program, and as a Keychange EU Innovator. She is the founder of SHE‑Q Audio, an organization that works to close the gender gap for women/non-binary folks in audio spaces.

Kim Mattice Wanat (she/​her) is a performer, teacher, author and director with a deep commitment to sharing her expertise with young singers, actors, teachers and choral directors. She founded Opera NUOVA in 1998 and has acted as the Artistic and Managing Director since its inception.

Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet (she/​her) is a multidisciplinary artist who works in painting, drawing, and installation, recollecting personal stories of grief and tenderness. Her family lines are Cree and Métis through Michel Band, as well as Dutch and mixed European.

Lana Whiskeyjack (she/​her) is a scholartist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Alberta. Her creative expressions explore the paradoxes of what it means to be ​“nîya ayisiyiniw ôma ohci asiskiy” (I am a human of this earth) within colonial systems. Her work reflects the rematriation, reclamation, and remembering of her ancestral medicine (sacredness and power).

Michelle Lavoie (she/​her), a queer artist, curator, researcher, and educator has initiated, built, and delivered public arts and 2SLGBTQ+ programs in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) since 1992 with initiatives such as SNAP’s education programs (1995−2012); the Edmonton Queer History Project (2015−23) and ongoing 2SLGBTQ+ youth art programs.

Rahma Rodaah (she/​her) is a children’s book author whose journey is rooted in her experiences as a first-generation Somali immigrant. Through her writing, teaching, and advocacy work her goal is to create stories that serve as mirrors for underrepresented children and windows for others to gain new perspectives, fostering a more inclusive and empathetic world.

Shawn Pinchbeck (he/​him) is an award-winning electroacoustic music composer, performer, curator and educator. His artworks explore all things that sound, often in conjunction with other elements such as: video, computer interaction, multi-speaker environments, sensors and electronics, interdisciplinary performance and gallery installations.

Sheiny Satanove (she/​her) is a community builder, arts leader, and is a founding member and current Managing Director of Punctuate! Theatre. Passionate about supporting our arts community, she also works as a consulting producer with Pyretic Productions, Pemmican Collective, Thou Art Here, and Theatre Yes.

Sheldon Elter (he/​him) is a Métis artist working primarily in theatre and film. He is an actor, playwright, and screenwriter and works as an Indigenous writing consultant for companies looking to Indigenize their scripts, particularly through comedy. Sheldon’s one-person play, Métis Mutt, has toured nationally and internationally.

Timiro Mohamed (she/​her) is a Somali-Canadian multidisciplinary artist and community educator passionate about the uses of art in community development, anti-racist education, and political advocacy. Her practice spans visual art, theatre, music, spoken word poetry and dance. As part of the Breaking Ground Art Collective, she co-developed performance exploring Blackness on the prairies through poetry, African and Caribbean dance forms and visual art.

Titilope Sonuga (she/​her) is a Nigerian-Canadian poet, playwright and performer who has captured hearts across the globe. Titilope made history as the first poet to perform at a Nigerian presidential inauguration and was the ninth Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton.

Zsofia Opra-Szabo (she/​her) is a filmmaker and theatre designer originally from Hungary, Budapest. While completing her second master’s in Theatre Design at the University of Alberta, she began working on her own art project which is an experiment to explore the borders between theatre, fine art, film and puppetry. Her stop-motion animation shorts have garnered numerous awards.