Stage Door News
Toronto: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre announces its 2020 Queer Emerging Artists Award recipients
Monday, December 7, 2020
We’re thrilled to present the recipients of our 2020 Queer Emerging Artists Awards, a group whose practices range broadly across artistic mediums and . Usually awarded to one artist per year, this year’s expanded award came in response to the intensified precarity of being an artist during the pandemic. Click on the photos below to learn more about each of their work.
The award includes a $1000 prize as well as a $500 stipend towards professional development, which recipients are using for everything from courses, to mentorship opportunities and equipment costs to help further their practice.
“This year’s recipients not only represent the wonderful queer talent present in Toronto’s live performance ecology, but also how embedded community building and community care are within a queer arts practice. With that, I’d like to congratulate this year’s recipients for the work they have accomplished thus far and extend my gratitude for the work they have done, and continue to do, for our queer communities,” says Interim Programming Director Daniel Carter.
The Buddies Queer Emerging Artists Awards seeks to recognize and encourage the achievements of queer artists who are founding careers in the arts while engaging with the community. This year’s selection committee was made up of Daniel Carter, Steph Raposo, Ty Sloane, and Dainty Smith.
Originally made possible by a gift from the estate of John Alan Lee, this year’s expanded awards are funded through the Kingfisher Foundation.
The Recipients:
Ajahnis Charley - sketch comedy
Alexi Pedneault - burlesque
Alten Wilmot - theatre
Aria Evans - dance
Beeta Sedendjani - dance, burlesque, screenwriting
Brock Hessel - performance art
Ganesh Thavarajah - theatre
Kamika Peters - multidisciplinary
Kwaku Okyere - theatre
lwrds - performance art
Maher Sinno - theatre
Merlin Simard - theatre
Olivia Shortt - music
Pree Aka Sticky Mangos - interdisciplinary
Robbie Ahmed - music
Shohana Sharmin - theatre
Sofia Fly - music
St. Stella - theatre and live performance creation
Tan Vu - musical Theatre performance
Weird Alice - performance art