James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Awards

James Bartleman

The James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Award commemorates the legacy of Ontario’s 27th Lieutenant Governor by recognizing up to six Indigenous students for their creative writing talent. Each recipient receives a $2,500 award.

There are three geographic categories:

  • fly-in community
  • on reserve
  • off reserve (do not live in a fly-in community or on a reserve)

A junior student (12 years old and younger) and a senior student (13 to 18 years old) is chosen from each geographic category.

Eligibility

As an applicant, you must:

  • be 18 years of age or under
  • have consent from your parent/legal guardian (if you’re under 18)
  • self-identify as an Indigenous person
  • be a student enrolled in a school in Ontario
  • be a resident of Ontario

Required information

In your application, you will need to provide:

  • your information
  • your parent/legal guardian’s contact information
  • your school name and address
  • an attachment containing your original creative writing piece. This may be a short story, poem, essay, play, song, comic strip or other form of creative writing that has not in any part been copied from another source
  • a brief description about the creative writing piece which may include:
    • what inspired you
    • what it means to you

Deadline

The deadline is May 31 of each year.

How to apply

  1. Gather all the required information.
  2. Create an account (or sign in for returning users) on the Ontario Honours and Awards Portal.
  3. Submit your application through the portal. If you’re under 18, you’ll need a parent/legal guardian to help you with the declaration section.

Selection process

An independent selection committee of individuals from Indigenous communities reviews each submission and recommends who should receive the award.

Award presentation

This award is presented annually at the Lieutenant Governors’ Legacy Awards Ceremony.

Previous recipients

Read about the previous recipients of this award.

About James Bartleman

James Bartleman served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. He was the first Indigenous person to be appointed to the role. The award was set up as a legacy to his efforts in promoting literacy among Indigenous youth.

 

Hal Jackman Award for Excellence in Public Art

Hal Jackman

The award commemorates the legacy of Ontario’s 25th Lieutenant Governor by recognizing individuals or groups for a public art project that demonstrates creative excellence and makes transformative contributions to public spaces.

    Two awards are presented annually:

  • the Established Artist category ($10,000)
  • the Emerging Artist category ($5,000)

Groups or organizations can nominate an individual artist or group artistic collective.

Eligible nominees

Individual nominee eligibility

The nominated artist must be:

  • a current or former long-term resident of Ontario (Canadian citizenship is not required)
  • a resident of Ontario at the time the public art was created
  • alive at the time of nomination
  • between 18 and 30 years of age, inclusive, in the nomination year for the Emerging Artist category

Group nominee eligibility

The nominated group must be composed of a maximum of 5 members who significantly contributed to     the nominated project.

If the group is nominated in the Emerging Artist category, all group members must be between 18 and 30 years of age, inclusive in the year of nomination.

Eligible nominating organizations

Organizations wishing to submit a nomination must be based in and operate in Ontario. Eligible nominating organizations include:

  • registered non-profits
  • municipalities
  • civic institutions (such as, museums, art galleries, libraries, community centres and cultural centres)
  • heritage associations
  • arts councils and agencies
  • art foundations
  • art commissioning agencies
  • post-secondary institutions with Public Art programs

Nominators may only submit one nomination per award cycle.

Individuals, or groups not identified above, wishing to nominate may collaborate with an eligible organization on a submission.

Non-eligible nominations

The following nominations are not eligible:

  • self-nominations, unless the nominee is a member of both the eligible nominating organization and the nominated group
  • individuals who have passed away
  • elected federal, provincial or municipal politicians, or public appointees currently in office
  • individuals or groups whose work, while categorized as public art, is commercially funded and intended for promotional purposes
  • are nominated by nominators from outside Ontario

Required information

To submit a nomination, you will need to provide:

  • nominee information, including:
    • first name
    • last name
    • telephone number
    • email address
  • for group nominations, provide the group name and group contact information
  • a brief description of the nominated public art project
  • a summary describing the nominee or group’s involvement in the project’s creation from concept to execution
  • a detailed description of the nominee’s or group’s contributions to public art in Ontario, highlighting the impact of the nominated
  • project and why it merits the award
  • a minimum of 2 signed impact letters from 2 different individuals who are not the nominator (electronic signatures and scanned copies are acceptable) — impact letter writers should:
    • include the letter writer’s first name, last name, telephone number and email address
    • explain their relationship to the nominee (for example, curator, arts administrator, etc.)
    • describe the value and impact of the nominee’s or group’s public art achievements
    • support the nomination
  • a minimum of one image of the public art project authorized by the nominee or group
  • mandatory signed agreements

File types

Images, letters and other supporting materials

Images, impact letters and other supporting materials are accepted in these file types:

  • .doc
  • .docx
  • .pdf
  • .jpeg
  • .jpg
  • .gif
  • .png
  • .txt

Maximum file size is 2 MB.

Short videos

A short video to support the nominee’s application is accepted in these file types:

  • .avi
  • .mov
  • .webm
  • .mp4
  • .wmv
  • .mkv
  • .flv
  • .mpg
  • .mpeg

Maximum file size for a video is 500 MB.

Signed agreements

Signed agreements are accepted in these file types:

  • .doc
  • .docx
  • .pdf
  • .jpeg
  • .jpg
  • .gif
  • .png
  • .txt

Maximum file size is 2 MB.

Additional supporting documents

You may include additional documents that provide further insight into the nominee’s or group’s accomplishments, such as:

  • supplementary impact statements.
  • professional reviews and critiques.
  • bibliographical or other contextual materials.
  • evidence of community response or public engagement such as visitor feedback, attendance information, surveys or community testimonials.
  • media stories and news articles.

Reference guides

Tips for writing and submitting a nomination.

How to apply

  1. Gather all the required information.
  2. Create an account (or sign in for returning users) on the Ontario Honours and Awards Portal.
  3. Submit your application through the portal.

Go to nomination portal

Selection process

 An independent selection committee will review all submissions and recommend recipients for the award.

Award presentation

 This award is presented annually at the Lieutenant Governors’ Legacy Awards Ceremony.

About Hal Jackman

Colonel the Honourable Henry N. R. “Hal” Jackman served as the 25th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1991 to 1997. During his tenure as Lieutenant Governor, he focused on supporting the arts, history and national unity.