Past Award Programs

With the common goal to support and celebrate artists in the City of Toronto, Neighbourhood Arts Network is pleased to offer awards through our various programs. All offerings are geared towards residents of the City of Toronto that are making positive impact in their community through their artistic practice.

TELUS NEWCOMER ARTIST AWARD

This prize is specifically to celebrate an individual artist who is a newcomer to Canada, a resident of the City of Toronto, and making a positive impact in their community through their artistic practice.

With the common goal to support and celebrate newcomer artists in the City of Toronto, TELUS and the Neighbourhood Arts Network created the TELUS Newcomer Artist Award. Administered by the Neighbourhood Arts Network and Toronto Arts Foundation, this prize was specifically geared for an individual artist who is a newcomer to Canada, a resident of the City of Toronto, and making a positive impact in their community through their artistic practice.

Past Recipients 

2015  | Ghazal Partou  is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist who moved to Canada in 2013. Her many accomplishments include exhibiting in Tehran where she received the Persbook Contemporary Art Award and the National Sculpture Biennial Award. Since landing in Toronto, Ghazal has been active in more than ten art projects as an actor, creative director and designer, and has collaborated twice with the Tirgan Festival, the world’s largest celebration of Iranian arts and culture. In 2014, to voice her concerns about political unrest, Ghazal designed an Antiwar Freeze Flash Mob in Yonge-Dundas Square with 100 performers. Her current focus is to make the most of Toronto’s multicultural atmosphere, and she uses her art to develop a language that transcends race, nationality and ethnicity.


2014 | Bruno Capinan is a Brazilian singer and songwriter who also wears the hats of poet, visual artist, and radio announcer. Since his arrival in Toronto six years ago, Capinan has been an active member of Toronto’s artistic community, collaborating with artists of various disciplines and cultural backgrounds, who have also served as inspiration for his own creative process. One of his latest collaborations was Make It, a musical showcase that was part of Harbourfront Centre’s China Now Festival. Collaborating with the Chan brothers, this live remix of Eastern and Western musical traditions included Capinan’s Brazilian-influenced music as well as some of his recent visual art creations. Bruno continues to develop his music career by working with Maracatu SoundSystem, a musical ensemble that fuses traditional Brazilian rhythms with an eclectic Torontonian approach. He is currently planning an independent release of his second album.


2014 | Saye Sky  is an Iranian spoken word artist and LGBTQ rights activist. As a lesbian she experienced first-hand the oppression and violence against the queer community in Iran, and started to write poetry and spoken word about women, children, and LGBTQ rights at the age of 13. In 2009, she recorded and released her first single in Iran, Shadow of an Iranian Woman, the first Iranian song about lesbian rights and their protracted struggle for freedom in Iran. She was consequently put at great risk by political authorities and forced to flee and seek refuge in Turkey. She was granted asylum in Canada in March 2011. Despite these struggles, Saye is driven to continue writing music after receiving considerable positive feedback from the Iranian community around the world. With her powerful lyrics, Saye Sky strives to raise awareness and inspire Iranians in Iran and the Iranian diaspora to advocate for freedom, equality, and dignity for all in Iran. She regularly performs for the Iranian-Canadian community and LGBTQ community in Toronto.