Photo Credit: Conseil des arts de Montréal

35th annual Grand Prix will celebrate Montréal's arts community in a free, all-virtual awards ceremony!


Friday, 23 October 2020 12:00.PM

The Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) is pleased to announce that its 35th annual Grand Prix will be awarded on November 12, 2020. Artists, elected officials, partners and all Montrealers are invited to celebrate the city's arts community at the first virtual edition of the Grand Prix awards ceremony. The free event will be streamed live and everyone's invited! Radio and television personality, Rebecca Makonnen, will emcee with Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante, Marie-Christine Cojocaru, Executive Director of the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, Nathalie Maillé, Executive Director of the CAM, and CAM Chair Jan-Fryderyk Pleszczynski in attendance.

Since March of this year, the CAM has been making every effort to support Montréal's arts community, which has been hard hit by the pandemic. "The arts have the power to transform our lives," says Nathalie Maillé, Executive Director of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. "Whatever the circumstance, culture brings us together. That has never been truer than it is in these times. It is critically important to continue celebrating the artistic community and all of the finalists in our 35th annual Grand Prix, who made outstanding contributions to Montréal's artistic vitality in 2019."

Invitation
Watch the announcement of the 35th Grand Prix winner live!
Thursday, November 12, 2020, noon to 1:15 p.m.

Register here

The finalists for the 35th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal are:

Alchimies, Créations et Cultures for the exceptional opening concert at the Arab World Festival of Montreal entitled Et la femme chanta Dieu. A veritable liturgical rite, this encounter between three sacred songs – Jewish, Muslim and Christian – was conducted and performed entirely by women, featuring three talented soloists and more than 25 female musicians, choristers and dancers under the artistic direction of Katia Makdissi-Warren.

Communication-Jeunesse for the project À la rencontre des Premières Nations addressing indigenous identity and reconciliation, and for their creative residencies giving seven indigenous writers the opportunity to spend time with pupils throughout the province of Quebec.

Ebnflōh Dance Company for In-Ward, a powerful choreographic work that unfolds seamlessly through the strong performances of six highly skilled dancers. A dance creation grounded in Hip Hop, from the organization founded by Alexandra "Spicey" Landé. Simply remarkable.

La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines et TOHU, cité des arts du cirque for the first edition of L'autre cirque, a new performance platform for small to mid-size circuses that showcases original circus works giving prominence to experimentation.

MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) for its 2019 season, which cemented its reputation as a hub celebrating the multiplicity of disciplines and dialogues. An effective springboard for local and international pluricultural artists, MAI presented unique events such as the series Black.Art.Empowerment, dedicated to arts from Afro-descendant communities and orchestrated by Rhodnie Désir, as well as Et si on réimaginait le monde?, a conference on the practices of deaf and disabled artists.

MOMENTA | Biennale de l'image for the impressive coherence of its 2019 edition, with artistic programming that brought together Montreal's entire visual arts community and effectively reflected the diverse approaches used by local, national and international artists.

MUTEK for its rich and diversified programming and the conceptual cohesion of its 20th edition; attracting a record-breaking audience, the organization added new venues to expand the festival's reach while building bridges between industry and the arts.

Toxique Trottoir for an outstanding year marked by citizen engagement and an energetic presence that enlivened Montreal neighbourhoods, drawing 4,500 people of all ages, origins and social standing with Ça baigne dans l'Est, La Brigade des embellisseurs poétiques and the theatrical clown show Aquaphonie.

Segal Centre for Performing Arts for its well-established culture of inclusivity, its musical theatre expertise, and its varied, socially aware programming, embodied by the musical Children of God, co-produced with Urban Inkembodied. Corey Payette's music, lyrics and direction, the cast's stirring performances and the project's collaborative community approach exposed a wide audience to the highly sensitive issue of residential schools, building bridges between the arts and people from all communities.

The winner will be announced online on November 12, 2020 in the 35th Grand Prix awards ceremony.
Finalists will each receive a $5,000 cash award donated by generous Montréal patrons, while the winner will receive a $30,000 cash award and an artwork by a Montréal artist. The CAM thanks its partners, the Caisse Desjardins de la culture and Télé-Québec.

SOURCE: Conseil des arts de Montréal