Vancouver, Tuesday, May 28th, 2013, The national association of visual artists (CARFAC) announced today that BC artist, Bill Horne, has won the National Visual Arts Advocacy Award. This award honours a professional artist who has made a significant contribution to the Canadian visual arts community.
Horne has been involved in arts advocacy at the provincial and national levels for over twenty-two years. As a representative for visual artists on both the provincial and national boards of CARFAC, Horne has provided guidance for countless artists in navigating the business sides of their practice, and worked persistently to build the membership.
“I wanted to know about proper policies for auctions, commission, juried shows, sending art overseas and Bill steered me in the right direction. I can think of no-one that deserves an arts advocate award more than Bill,” said Vanderhoof artist and nominator Annerose Georgeson.
The National Visual Arts Advocacy Award will be presented as part of the program for Artists for Artists – the National Conference for Visual Artists.
Award Presentation:
Saturday, June 1st, 7:30 pm
Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery, 555 Nelson Street
About Bill Horne:
Bill Horne is based in Wells, BC, where he and his wife Claire Kujundzic opened Amazing Space Studio & Gallery in a former Catholic Church in 1999. Born in Vancouver, Bill Horne studied painting and drawing at the Banff Centre and film animation at UBC. Bill has exhibited his work across Canada.
Horne’s advocacy extends beyond the realm of visual arts. He was Amnesty International’s Central America Coordinator for English Canada in the early 1980s and has remained active in campaigns for social justice and human rights. In 2009, after the BC government made significant cuts to provincial arts programs, Horne photographed miners, farmers, forestry workers and others in support of arts funding in his “Solidarity Series”. His main body of work incorporates screen printed letters from politicians about a variety of issues.
Horne has served on the boards of the Wells Chamber of Commerce, Island Mountain Arts, and was a founding Director of Canadian Filmmakers Distribution West. He has taught papermaking in Nicaragua and designed work for the BC Federation of Labour, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the BC Organization to Fight Racism.
”It has been a real honour to work with Bill,” said CARFAC BC President, Julie McIntyre. “Everything Bill says and does embodies Jack Chambers’ adage that founded CARFAC: No one is more qualified to speak on behalf of artists than artists themselves.”
Further biographical information.
About the National Visual Arts Advocacy Award
The inaugural National Visual Arts Advocacy Award was presented to Kim Ondaatje and Tony Urquhart two of CARFACs founding members in 2008, in celebration of CARFACs 40th anniversary. A new era of arts activism was born under their leadership, and through this award, we pay tribute to further achievements made by artists in the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of visual artists, and the overall well-being of the visual arts community.
Marlene Creates of Portugal Cove, Newfoundland won in 2009, Todd Janes from Edmonton, Alberta received the award in 2010, Sarah Petite from Fredericton, New Brunswick was honored in 2011 and Pat Durr from Ottawa in 2012.
Photo: Edward Peck