Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts

About the awards

The awards were created in 1999 by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Governor General of Canada. Since then, they have celebrated the vibrant arts community in Canada and recognized remarkable careers in the visual and media arts.

Up to eight awards are distributed every year: six awards recognize artistic achievements, one award recognizes an exceptional fine craft artist (Saidye Bronfman Award) and one award recognizes an outstanding contribution to contemporary visual arts, media arts or fine craft. The winners all receive a medallion and a cash prize of $25,000 each.

The GGArts are part of the Canada Council’s suite of prizes recognizing artistic merit and outstanding contribution to the arts.

Visit en.ggarts.ca

Nominations

Nomination submissions are processed through the Prizes – Submission Portal.

If you are an individual co-nominating someone, please choose a lead nominator to submit your nomination through the Prizes – Submission Portal.

If you are part of an organization nominating someone, please select a representative to submit the nomination through the Prizes – Submission Portal.

To submit a nomination:

Open the Guidelines webpage to access and review the eligibility requirements and forms.

If you and the person you wish to nominate are eligible, download the forms for your chosen GGArts category (Artistic Achievement, Outstanding Contribution, Saidye Bronfman Award), available on the Guidelines webpage.

Complete all forms and gather support material:

Identification form
Nomination form
Nomination statement (2 pages maximum)
Curriculum vitae of candidate
Written support material (as applicable)
Digital support material (images, audio-visual, as applicable)

Select the submit a nomination button for your chosen GGArts category on the Guidelines webpage. This will direct you to the Prizes – Submission Portal where you can submit nominations online.

Please note:

Do not submit your nomination until you have completed all the forms and gathered support material. The Prizes – Submission Portal does not allow you to save and resume the nomination process.

Guidelines and nomination forms