The finalists have been announced for the Abbotsford Arts Council’s 15th annual Arty Awards.
The recipients will be announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 28 at The Reach Gallery Museum.
Submissions were accepted from late June through August, and entries were up 45 per cent from last year.
The awards will be presented in eight categories, in addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, which this year goes to Kris Foulds, long-time curator of historical collections at The Reach. The nominees are:
• Arts advocate – Marc Forcier, Wenonah Justin, Oldhand Coffee, Ravens Brewing and Ron Richardson
• Emerging artist – Sydney Beau, Tara Faulks, Lindsay Lanigan, Rapinder Rai and Jay Rettich
• Lifestyle – Tanya Loewen and Robyn Marshall
• Literary arts – Martin Castro, Chandanee Dancey, Seamus Heffernan, Jessica Milliken and Chad Reimer
• Media arts – Baneet Braich, Colla Films, Taras Groves/funFAYR, Mitch Huttema and Casey Kowalchuk
• Performing arts – Blessed, Ben Cottrill, Ken Hildebrandt, Kyler Pierce and Deanne Ratzlaff
• Visual arts – Rebekah Brackett, Kate Glenn, Jeff Stackhouse, Bob St. Cyr and Shannon Thiesen
• Youth achievement – Priscilla Gubiotti, Brooklyn Rae McCarthy, Anna Steineckert and Nakeisha Williams
The Arty Awards start at 7:30 p.m. and feature performances from selected nominees. The event will be hosted by Cliff Prang, last year’s winner in the Performing Arts category.
Tickets are $20 and are available at The Reach, Kariton Gallery and online at abbotsfordartscouncil.com.
RELATED: 2018 Arty Awards recipients
RELATED: 2017 Arty Awards recipients