Five finalists announced for the 30th annual Saidye Bronfman Award

Five finalists announced for the 30^th annual Saidye Bronfman Award

The Saidye Bronfman Award is one of the largest individual visual arts prizes in Canada. In addition to the cash prize, works by the Award recipient are acquired by the Canadian Museum of Civilization for its permanent collection. In recent years, The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation has contributed over $250,000 for the purchase of works by previous Award recipients. The Canadian Museum of Civilization’s fine crafts collection is the largest public collection in Canada, with over 2,000 works by craftspeople from across the country.

The Saidye Bronfman Award recipient will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Civilization on Wednesday, October 25, 2006. The recipient’s work will be displayed as part of a major exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, entitled UNIQUE! 30 Years of Outstanding Crafts that will be on view from October 26, 2006 through August 5, 2007. This exhibition will investigate 30 years of Canadian craft production as documented in the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s collection, including work by all 30 recipients of the Saidye Bronfman Award. This year’s award recipient will also be featured in a 30-second Artspots profile, both created by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and presented on the national television network.

The finalists for this year’s Saidye Bronfman Award, who will each receive $1,000, are truly masters of their respective crafts.

Kevin Lockau, a leading innovator in hot glass casting techniques, lives and works north of Bancroft, Ontario. He is best known for his work and his role in the development of the glass studio at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Always aware of the interactions of humans with nature, he often collects various sized stones from the shores of Lake Superior, carves them and combines them with glass to make his sculptural pieces. Lockau has received numerous international scholarships and awards, and he is a founding member of “10 North”, a group of Canada’s foremost glass artists. In 2003, Lockau founded the Stone Carving Symposium that takes place annually in Bancroft, Ontario. He was also a member of the advisory committee that set in motion a new glassblowing program at Fleming College’s Haliburton School of the Arts. He has exhibited his work across Canada and in the United States, France, Finland, Germany and Sweden.

Michael D. Massie lives in Kippens, on the west coast of Newfoundland, and is a noted silversmith and sculptor. His work is a reflection of his mixed Inuit, Métis and Scottish heritage. In it he investigates both traditional and modern themes. He has achieved renown for his innovative teapots that combine themes and symbols from his native Inuit culture with European traditions. A graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Massie operates his own business, Steeped in Silver. He has also served on a number of art committees; currently he is a board member of the Association for Aboriginal Artists of Newfoundland and Labrador. Massie sele