Apply now for 2026 Emerging Artist Award
The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation established the Emerging Artist Awards to support and encourage Alberta’s most promising artists at an early stage of their careers. Artists from all art disciplines including performing, visual, literary, cinematic, architecture and design are encouraged to apply.
Emerging Artists have mastered their art form through education and/or apprenticeship and are in the early years of launching a professional career. Up to 10 awards of $10,000 will be announced in June, 2026.
Deadline is February 18, 2026.
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artists 2005-2025
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ALBERTA
Salma Lakhani is a community leader and volunteer who is guided by her deep commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusion and her dedication to championing those who face barriers in life. Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, she came to Canada in 1977 as a stateless person after all Ugandans of Asian origin were expelled from that country. She is a proud Ismaili Muslim who has offered longstanding service to a range of organizations, including NorQuest College, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, Kids Kottage, Sorrentino’s Compassion House, the Alberta Cancer Board and the Zebra Foundation.
She began her duties as the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta on August 26, 2020. She serves as Patron of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards.
2025 Distinguished Artists Announced
Three outstanding artists have been named to receive the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta 2025 Distinguished Artist Award: Jens Lindemann, Trumpet (Edmonton, AB; Los Angeles, CA)
John Estacio’s music – an enduring gift
At a pivotal point in his then-emerging career as a composer, John Estacio landed in Edmonton as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s first Composer in
The Old Trouts.. always something new
Is there a more quintessential Alberta origin story than that of Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop? The Old Trout Puppet Workshop was founded on
Alberta’s 2024 Emerging Artists Named
A documentary filmmaker cuts to the heart of farming and rural life. A Blackfoot multidisciplinary artist expresses her culture’s values and history in her
Ronnie Burkett Receives Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award
On June 7, 2024 puppeteer extraordinaire Ronnie Burkett was awarded the Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for his work as puppeteer, playwright, designer
SEARCH FOR AN ARTIST
ARTS AWARDS PARTNERS
