The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (PGGAS) announced on Thursday the names of the five recipients of Canada’s highest honor in the performing arts.
The PGGAS honor national artists whose achievements have “enriched the cultural life of the country and also showcased Canadian talent abroad,” the statement said.
The recipients for 2023 are: Alberta singer and songwriter k. d. language; Quebec playwright and screenwriter Michel Marc Bouchard; jazz singer-songwriter Molly Johnson; the choreographer and former dancer of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, James Kudelka; as well as Acadian soprano Rosemarie Landry.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Playwright and screenwriter Michel Marc Bouchard, in September 2021.
“The arts play a vital role in our lives and the current pandemic has made a powerful demonstration of this,” said Douglas Knight, President and CEO of the Foundation) and Co-President Anik Bissonnette. “As we celebrate our remarkable 2023 Laureates, we must also take the time to express our appreciation to all the Canadian artists and the public who have brought a little light into our lives and brought us together in these hard times. »
The Foundation would also like to pay tribute to Peter Herrndorf, who died of cancer on February 18, an important figure in the Canadian cultural milieu. He was, among other things, President and CEO of the National Arts Center until 2018. illustrious artists and cultural volunteers for more than 30 years. »