Mississauga, ON – May 18, 2023
“It is my great pleasure to be here with you again, celebrating outstanding achievements by some of the finest artists in Mississauga. You are all challenging yourself to do better, in this resurgent creative community.” Mayor Bonnie Crombie encouraged, “I’m not an artist, but I still feel like I belong here. Your creative talents do so much to confirm a sense of belonging for yourselves and our residents. Congratulations to all of the nominees!”
The sold-out 28th Mississauga Arts Awards (MARTYS) took place on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at the Mississauga Convention Centre with 500 guests in attendance to support Mississauga’s arts community. The MARTYS honours the greatest achievements in the arts in Mississauga across all artistic practices. The list of winners can be found at the bottom of this press release.
The show was hosted by Master of Ceremonies, Donovan Fernandes. Guests enjoyed dazzling performances from The Freeman Brothers Band, Jasy, Adina V, David Leask and Bollywood Dance School. The Awards was directed by show producer Ron Duquette and highlighted the achievements of 59 finalists and celebrated 16 MARTY Award Winners plus 3 Community Arts Winners.
Award Winners Reactions:
“This feels amazing. When I released my first song, I wondered if I would win a MARTY. For anyone that wants to make art, just create and don’t be afraid to let anything stop you. You can win the things you never thought you could.” says Sarah Catharine, MARTYS Emerging Solo Vocalist winner.
“This is quite an honour. It caught me completely off guard. It caused a lot of introspection. I’ve been so busy living my life that I haven’t looked back at it and this made me! Stay tuned for Chapter Two!” says Ron Cameron-Lewis, Lifetime Achievement Award winner for his career in theatre education at Sheridan College.
Included during the night, a special surprise MARTY Jury Award for Theatre Resilience was presented to City Centre Musical Productions (CCMP) & the Encore Series, for their unprecedented resilience in overcoming pandemic hurdles to produce a stellar encore performance of Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Mayor Crombie offered special thanks to Event Sponsors: Brightwater, Century Audio Visual, Daniels – Oxford Properties, Lakeview Village, Peel Police Services Board, Edenshaw Fairview and Ignite Digital. The full list of MARTYS Sponsors can be found at the bottom of this press release.
“This past year saw a resurgence of the arts in Mississauga, recovering from the damage done by the pandemic, pulling together to create, connect, and celebrate the arts once again.” says Mike Douglas, MAC’s Executive Director, “MAC is proud to support the courage, hard work, and inspiring accomplishments of our arts communities. Congratulations to all of the 59 finalists and 19 award winners!”
MAC would like to congratulate all of our 2023 MARTY Award winners, Community Award Winners and finalists on all of their achievements. We would like to also thank our sponsors, for which this night would not be possible without their gracious support. Learn more: mississaugaartscouncil.com/events/the-marty-awards/
28th Annual Mississauga Arts Awards Winners
Community Arts Group of the Year
Canadian Community Arts Initiative (CCAI)
Dance (Established)
Candace Kumar
Festival of the Year
Paint The Town Red Port Credit Canada Day Celebrations
Film/Video Arts (Emerging)
Cullen McFater
Film/Video Arts (Established)
Vanessa Burns
Literary Arts (Emerging)
Pujita Verma
Literary Arts (Established)
Manahil Bandukwala
Music – Instrumental (Established)
Radhika Baskar
Music – Solo Vocalist (Emerging)
Sarah Catharine
Music – Solo Vocalist (Established)
Tennyson King
Special Jury Award for Theatre Resilience
City Centre Musical Productions (CCMP) & the Encore Series
Visual Art – Multimedia (Emerging)
Veronica Spiljak
Visual Art – Multimedia (Established)
Victor Wong
Visual Art – Public Art (Established)
Omar Hopkinson
Visual Art – Traditional Forms (Emerging)
Karim Machado-Aman
Visual Art – Traditional Forms (Established)
Stephanie Schirm
Community Award Winners
Laurie Pallett Patron of the Arts Award
Brightwater
Lifetime Achievement Award
Ron Cameron-Lewis
Hazel McCallion Volunteer Award
Elizabeth Banfalvi
Thank you to the 2023 MARTY Award Sponsors:
Gold Sponsors: Brightwater, Century Audio Visual, Daniels Oxford Properties, Lakeview Village, Peel Police Services Board
Silver Sponsor: Edenshaw Fairview, Ignite Digital
Award Sponsors: Art Gallery of Mississauga, Bell Canada, Insuranceland, Express Scripts, Nurse Next Door Mississauga, Laurie Pallett, Pallett Valo LLP, Silver Birch Partners, Tourism Mississauga, MAC Board of Directors
Friends of the MARTYS: Alectra Utilities, Fielding Environmental, David Ho, JD Accounting, Jenny Rushforth, Desjardin Agent, Michael Spaziani, TD Bank Group
Thank you to our Media Partner:
Y Media Group
About The Mississauga Arts Awards:
The Mississauga Arts Awards (The MARTYS) are the Mississauga Arts Council’s annual award celebration honouring outstanding individual and organizational contributions to the arts and cultural activity in our City. Each year we seek to recognize honourees whose work helps transform and advance our communities through art. For the last 28 years, the MARTYS has been the City’s most distinguished red carpet event for recognizing established and emerging artists. Learn more mississaugaartscouncil.com/events/the-marty-awards/
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For more information about 2023 MARTYS, please contact:
Sherri Murray, Communications Manager
Mississauga Arts Council
media@mississaugaartscouncil.com
Images from the 2023 MARTYS Awards
More images are available upon request
