In Ottawa, the Governor-General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala

The Governor-General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala, May 27, Ottawa

For Canadian creators of film, music, dance or theatre, there’s no higher honour than the performing-arts awards administered each year by the office of Canada’s governor-general. In Ottawa over the last weekend in May, the 2023 laureates were honoured firstly at an intimate ceremony overseen by Mary Simon, Governor-General of Canada, at Rideau Hall, followed the next night by a splashy public celebration at the National Arts Centre.

The NAC-hosted portion of the weekend kicked off with cocktails followed by dinner for a few hundred of the award’s supporters, past laureates and dignitaries. Later, Southam Hall was the gathering place for the big show, where laureates were honoured on stage by colleagues and the next generation of artists. Playwright Michel Marc Bouchard; singer-songwriter Molly Johnson (who performed her own wonderful tribute!); choreographer James Kudelka; soprano Rosemarie Landry; and singer k.d. lang (Jann Arden performed in her honour) were the figures being celebrated. The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts was presented to one of Canada’s most decorated Indigenous leaders, John Kim Bell, founder of the Indspire Awards, and this year’s National Arts Centre Award was given to actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Kevin Loring, artistic director of Indigenous Theatre at the NAC, spoke early in the evening during a tribute to former president and CEO of the NAC, the late Peter Herrndorf, who in 1992, alongside Brian Robertson and former governor-general Ramon John Hnatyshyn, founded the awards. Herrndorf’s widow, Eva Czigler, and his brother Fred were both in attendance. A shift in the scene could be seen at this year’s event, with new faces in attendance, such as Guy Pratte, who recently assumed the position of chair of the NAC board of trustees, and familiar names, such as Susan Glass of Winnipeg, a long-time supporter of NAC activities, attending in her new role as chair of the NAC Foundation. This gathering also marked the last big to-do with the beloved Jayne Watson in attendance, who retired officially as CEO of the NAC Foundation a couple of days after the event. There in the room were a number of diplomats including Italian Ambassador to Canada Andrea Ferrari and his wife Maria Grazia Mattarella Ferrari; and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen and his wife Rhonda; and a bevy of philanthropists including the gala’s lead donor, Donald K. Johnson; Bill Morneau and Nancy McCain; and Jim and Sandi Treliving. Also out was Douglas Knight, the chair and CEO of the GGPAA, who was there with his wife Shelley Ambrose; and there of course was Christopher Deacon, NAC president and CEO.