Awards and Fellowships
Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts
The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts are annual awards created in 2006 by the Government of Ontario. The awards recognize the outstanding achievements of artists and arts organizations and their contributions to arts and culture in Ontario over a significant period of time.
The jury chosen by the Ontario Arts Council Awards Office for their expertise in the arts and cultural disciplines will evaluate candidates and select the awards’ laureates.
The awards are supported by the Government of Ontario. The total value of the awards is $120,000. This amount is divided into two categories of $60,000 each for: the Artist Award and the Arts Organization Award.
About the Artist Award
The Artist Award recognizes a professional artist.
One laureate will receive a cash award of $35,000. The laureate will nominate a promising new or emerging individual talent in the same field who will receive a cash award of $15,000.
Five short-listed finalists will each receive $2,000 and a framed certificate.
All artist and emerging talent candidates must be professional artists, Ontario residents, and Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
About the Arts Organization Award
The Arts Organization Award is given to an arts organization involved in the production and/or distribution of artistic work by professional artists.
One laureate will receive a cash award of $50,000.
Five short-listed finalists will each receive $2,000 and a framed certificate.
Candidates can be not-for-profit organizations or for-profit commercial enterprises. Their primary business must be part of the professional arts or cultural industries of Ontario. The organization must have a head office in Ontario and led by professional personnel.
2014 nomination deadline: December 2, 2013
2013 nominators will be notified of the results no earlier than June 2013.
Any Ontario resident who enjoys and takes an interest in Ontario’s arts and cultural industries may nominate an artist or arts organization for the awards. You may submit a nomination in one category only, for either the Artist Award or the Arts Organization Award, not both, per year.
Candidates for the awards must be nominated by a third party. Candidates cannot apply to the awards or nominate themselves.
A candidate may receive one nomination only per year. If two or more nominations are made for a candidate, the Ontario Arts Council will consult with the candidate to see which nomination the candidate accepts; the other nomination(s) will be withdrawn.
About the Nominations
For information on the awards’ candidate and nominator eligibility criteria and nomination process, review the nomination guidelines.
Gather the required documentation and submit a complete nomination package to the Ontario Arts Council on or before December 2, 2013.
The following guidelines and nomination application are for information only. Before making an application, please ensure you have the 2014 guidelines and nomination application, which can be obtained by contacting the OAC.
For more information
Contact the Ontario Arts Council Awards Office at: 416-961-1660 ext. 6666 / 1-800-387-0058 ext 6666
For a cumulative list of laureates 
(print version)