Rideau Hall, Wednesday, April 8, 2015

What a privilege it is to welcome you to Rideau Hall for the 15th anniversary of these awards!

Tonight, we continue a proud tradition of celebrating Canada’s finest artists and most dedicated supporters of the arts.

Tonight, we honour the truly creative visionaries in our midst.

Thank you all for being here. 

Fifteen years ago, my predecessor, Roméo LeBlanc, announced the creation of these awards, which completed the trilogy of arts awards presented here at Rideau Hall.

One thing a new award needs is a champion from within the community, someone with the vision, persistence and credibility to see it through from idea to reality.

In the case of the visual and media arts awards, that person’s name is Takao Tanabe.

Many of you in the arts community will know who Mr. Tanabe is, but for those who don’t I’ll share a little of his extraordinary story.

He was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia in 1926.

The son of a commercial fisherman, he spent his summers fishing on the Skeena River.

To our nation’s shame, he was interned along with thousands of other Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War.

And, in a career that spanned many decades, he became a renowned landscape painter and a beloved art teacher.

We invited Takao, who still lives in B.C., to the join us tonight, but unfortunately he was unable to be here.

But in a speech he gave 15 years ago, he talked about the persistence that was needed to create these awards.

At the outset, and I quote, he said he thought it “couldn’t be too hard to organize and get a bit of funding” for the project.

Ha-ha-ha!

“Well, what a surprise,” he said. “It’s not only hard. It’s almost impossible.”

What follows in his speech is a long list of the friends, artists, curators, directors, arts professionals, fundraisers, accountants and MPs he talked to.

He spoke to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, a Canadian high commissioner and, of course, the Governor General.

The turning point came when the Canada Council for the Arts gave its support to the idea.

“As with many magical moments,” he said, “the timing was just right.”

I like this story, and think it instructive in so many ways.

I think you might even agree it relates closely to the artistic process.

A work of art is rarely the result of a bolt from the blue, so to speak.

Rather, creativity usually occurs by a mixture of vision, determination, collaboration, stops and starts, dead ends, arm-twisting, a sense of timing and, not least, sheer good luck.

The artists and organizers we celebrate tonight have shown just that kind of creativity and dedication—and they have done so for their entire careers.

To each of you, I say thank you for enriching our lives through the visual and media arts.

Each of you works in a unique visual language. You shepherd beauty and wonder into being. You are explorers who inspire, challenge and delight us.

You are most deserving of this honour.

I think Takao Tanabe and all the individuals who helped to establish these awards would be very proud to see you here this evening.

I certainly am, and I thank you and the Canada Council for the Arts on behalf of all Canadians.

Congratulations to all of you!

Have a wonderful evening!