NPA | Arts

2011 | Waleed Abdulhamid

What better way to achieve success than to share with others? Waleed Abdulhamid -instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, producer, film maker, and an active member of the Toronto music scene since his arrival in Canada in 1992 – has been able to give back to the community through his music.

Born in Sudan in 1968, Waleed began performing at the age of six, when he appeared on a weekly children’s television show and on radio in Sudan.  Many percussionists across the country emulated Waleed’s unique percussion style, which introduced traditional rhythms into popular music.   After leaving Sudan at age 18, Waleed performed, recorded and toured extensively across Europe.

2010 | Joan Butterfield

Joan Butterfield is a prolific artist, with her work appearing across North America. She has created over 8,000 works and participated in hundreds of solo and group exhibits. Joan’s pieces are found in homes, civic buildings, boardrooms, galleries and public spaces around the world.

Joan has received accolades in both Canada and the USA, and is the founder and art director for the Association of African Canadian Artists and curator of their critically acclaimed COLOURblind Art Exhibitions. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Scotiabank Caribana Festival and curator of their annual art exhibition.

2009 | King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo

Juno Award-nominated King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo is a positive force, celebrated for his musical talent, resolve and resourcefulness. His talent enriches his adopted community of Toronto, the world venues that enjoy his music and his native Uganda. Achilla is truly a global citizen.

King Achilla has produced three CDs, which have received international acknowledgment, including the FIATTE Memorial Award for best traditional performer in 1996, twice recognized by the World Music Symposium in Germany, and a Juno nomination in 2005 for Best World Music of the Year. King Achilla’s music has received considerable critical acclaim for its unique blend of the African lokombe sound with rhythms and sounds of Western instruments.

2008 | Sashar Zarif

 Eighteen months after arriving in Canada, Sashar received an award from the East York Board of Education for his contribution to multiculturalism and diversity at Eastern High School of Commerce, where he was finishing his schooling. In 1993, he founded and directed the Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre and the Canadian Academy of Azerbaijani Dance.

In 2001, Sashar founded, and continues to direct, Dancers for Peace, an international festival reflecting a vision of hope and peace that transcends barriers between nations, races and religions. In 2003, he was awarded the Chalmers Professional Development Grant and in 2004, he received his MA from York University, Faculty of Fine Arts, in Dance and Dance Ethnology. That same year, he began teaching at York University with the Dance Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, where he started a successful credit course called “Introduction to World Dance Practices: Dances of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia”.

2007 | Hari Krishnan

Born in Singapore, trained in South India, and now living in Toronto, Hari Krishnan represents a new community of contemporary artists merging Asian and Western sensibilities to create a new Canadian aesthetic that is grounded in classicism while speaking to a global modern audience. Bridging academic scholarship and performance, Hari is an internationally recognized master of the South Indian courtly dance known as Bharatanatyam, and is also renowned for his experimental work across the world. 

Currently the Artistic Director of the Toronto-based company inDANCE, Hari holds an MA in Dance from York University, and a BA in Linguistics and Asian Studies from the University of Manitoba. He is also Visiting Professor of Dance at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. His experimental and vintage choreographies are performed at international venues, including St. Mark's Dance Space in New York City, The Royal Opera House in London, UK, The Museum Theatre in Chennai, India, The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull. He is also regularly invited to give talks and conduct classes and lecture-demonstrations at academic institutions in Canada, the US, UK and India.

2006 | Natalie Woods

Natalie arrived in Canada from Trinidad in 1984 to study at the University of Toronto and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1988. While working in the field of social work, she began to pursue her long-time dream of becoming an artist. Natale went on to further her studies at the Ontario College of Art and Design and, in 2000, graduated with a Master's Degree in Art Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Natalie is now a multimedia artist, curator and arts educator. 

Recognition for her achievements includes a City of York Civic Recognition Award, the M. NourbeSe Philip Award for Outstanding Contributions to African Arts and Culture, and numerous awards from the Toronto, Ontario and Canada Councils for the Arts. In 2006 Natalie received an award from the Ontario Arts Council which will enable her to complete her website project, vtapedigital.org/kinlinks. She has also been nominated for the K. M. Hunter Interdisciplinary Arts Award. Natalie is presently attending an International Artist Residency in Trinidad with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

2005 | Chan Hon Goh

Chan Hon Goh is a principal dancer of The National Ballet of Canada and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet (Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.). She joined the Corps de Ballet of The National Ballet of Canada in 1988 and rapidly progressed to Second Soloist in 1990, First Soloist in 1992 and Principal Dancer in 1994. She frequently appears as a guest artist with dance companies worldwide, produces full programs of dance and also teaches master classes.  

Chan has established the Chan Hon Goh Scholarship Fund to nurture and support talented dancers. She involves herself with the community by supporting a range of Toronto-based not-for-profit organizations and for the past 10 years, has been an Honorary Advisor to the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.

2004 | An-lun Huang

Born in mainland China to a musical family, An-lun Huang was prevented from pursuing his undergraduate studies in music by the Cultural Revolution in his native country. Undeterred, he educated himself and was appointed resident composer and assistant conductor at the Central Opera House of China in Beijing. John Fraser, Master of Massey College, helped An-lun to come to Canada in 1980 to study music at the University of Toronto.

An-lun Huang has composed 20 symphonic works, 11 operatic productions, three ballets and numerous choral, chamber and film music. His oratorios – ‘Easter Cantata’, ‘Psalm 22’ and ‘Revelation’ are considered the largest and most significant works in Canada. His ballet ‘Dream of Dunhuang’ has been selected as a masterpiece of Chinese composition in the 20th century. An-lun's music has received a wide range of performances and broadcasts around the world. In the 90s, An-lun was invited to join the Canadian League of Composers and is now listed in the International Who’s Who in Music.

2003 | Yvonne Ng

Born in Singapore, Yvonne came to Canada in 1983 as an international student. When she applied to change her status to that of a landed immigrant she found the process a lengthy one. However, even though alone in Canada, Yvonne was determined to fulfill her dream of becoming a professional dancer and overcame the obstacles that were before her.

To consolidate her creative activities as performer, choreographer and teacher, Yvonne founded Princess Productions in 1995. Her choreographic works have received critical acclaim and some of her works have been performed across Canada and in Australia and Singapore. Since 1994, she has also been the Co-Director of Series 8:08, a dance service organization that seeks to promote the creative development of professional Canadian dance artists. 

2002 | Christos Hatzis

Greek born Christos Hatzis immigrated to Canada in 1982 after completing his doctoral studies in the USA. He entered Canada as a nightclub musician and for years lived precariously, performing in nightclubs with Greek bands while working on his compositions. Initially, his music did not receive much support or understanding as it was different from the accepted stylistic preferences of the eighties. Christos’ compositions were inspired by world cultures and revealed a sense of positive cultural convergence. It was only in the nineties when Toronto became more multicultural, that Christos’ classical new music began to win support.

Today, Christos Hatzis is considered one of Canada’s most important and prolific composers. He has successfully expanded the boundaries of modern classical composing by using an array of eclectic styles and techniques. He is also an acclaimed essayist about the role of contemporary classical music within societies, present and future. In 1995, Christos became an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music where he continues to teach to this day.

2001 | Alex Hiu Man Yeung

Alex Yeung's work melds eastern and western aesthetics, with a highly developed sense of form. In 1991, Alex arrived from Hong Kong to study at the University of Manitoba where he graduated with an Honours Bachelors degree in Fine Arts. Specializing in ceramics, Alex's work soon began to attract attention and he was selected to represent the University at an international student exhibition curated in the United States. In 1992, he received the Johnson Taboski Award for Excellence in Art and in 1994 was awarded the First Prize at the 62nd Manitoba Society of Artists Juried Exhibition.

2000 | Lata Pada

Originally from Bangalore, India, Lata Pada has made Canada her home for the past 35 years. During that time she has brought great cultural enrichment to both Canada and the world as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, lecturer and a pioneer of South Asian dance.

Lata's first home in Canada was in the remote mining township of Thompson, Manitoba. As the only woman of South Asian origin in her community, Lata embraced the opportunity to learn about Canadian lifestyles and traditions by becoming active in numerous community groups. In turn, she gave dance performances and lectures on the culture and performing arts of India. In 1985 the tragic crash of an Air India flight claimed the lives of Lata’s husband and two daughters. Her tremendous inner strength and resilience enabled her cope with this terrible loss and to continue to bring her unique artistic gifts to the world.

1999 | Patrick Parson

Patrick Parson immigrated to Canada from Trinidad in 1988, bringing with him rich cultural traditions in dance and music of the Caribbean. Shortly after his arrival he applied for a partial scholarship to the Toronto Dance Theatre School and studied management at Ryerson University.

In 1990, noting a lack of African and Caribbean professional arts in Toronto he founded Ballet Creole. Two years later, the company established itself as a major Canadian company with performances at the nationally renowned Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. Since 1994, Ballet Creole has presented its annual dance season at Harbourfront's du Maurier and Premiere Dance Theatres in Toronto. The company performs regularly in many of the major cities and festivals in Canada and, in 1993 expanded its touring to the northern United States. They recently performed at the Healing Through the Arts Festival in Denver, where they shared the stage with such acclaimed dance companies as Dance Theatre of Harlem and Dallas Black Dance Theatre.

1998 | Leba Tonnu

During the Communist takeover of Vietnam in 1975, Dr. Leba Tonnu was stripped of her status as a dentist and forced to work as a janitor. In 1977 Dr. Tonnu, her husband and two sons joined thousands of others in fleeing the repressive regime but were captured and imprisoned. Two years later, using false names and borrowed money, they begged passage on a 10-meter boat carrying almost 140 passengers. When the engine failed they drifted in storm-tossed seas for 13 days until they managed to make their way to the shores of Malaysia's Tioman Island where they were forced back out to sea. In desperation they destroyed the boat and walked to shore only to be sent to a refugee camp where they remained for four months.

1997 | Amelia Jimenéz

Amelia Jimenéz was a fine arts student at the University of Chile when the military took control of the government. She finished her studies and in 1977 came to Canada. She studied English and, while enrolled at the Ontario College of Art in 1980, served as artist in residence at La Chasse Gallery in Toronto. In 1982 she studied at the Studio Camnitzer in Italy and in 1984 was invited to Colombia, South America to work on the production of a homage to the poet Pablo Neruda. Amelia is an education officer with the Art Gallery of Ontario and works with young people to encourage their creative expression. Her visual art ranges from printmaking to photography and she currently incorporates photography and sculptural elements in her multi-media expressions. Since 1976, Amelia has exhibited her work at shows in Canada, South America and Germany. 

1996 | Vincenzo Pietropaolo

As a self-taught photographer, Vincenzo’s first body of work was a social documentary on Italian immigrant life. Through the camera he is a witness to individuals and groups overlooked by history books. His most current work Harvest Pilgrims, documents migrant farm workers who come to Canada from Mexico, Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean. His work has appeared nationally and internationally as feature exhibits; in books and magazines; on television; and is collected by the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography and held in many private and corporate collections.

1995 | Soheil Parsa

Soheil was a co-founder of the Modern Times Stage Company formed in 1989. In 1994 his production of The Death of the King was nominated for five DORA Awards, which recognize outstanding theatre achievement in Toronto, and received the award for outstanding new play. As a director, set and stage designer, translator, adaptor, choreographer and actor, Soheil’s work is based on his experience in Iran and focuses on oppression and loss of freedom; especially loss speech. His art is innovative and original; created to empower those who are often marginalized and under-represented. He is a board member of The Theatre Centre, the Small Theatre Administrative Facility and a member of Theatre Ontario Cross Cultural Advisory Committee.

1994 | Rina Singha

After leaving India, Rina emigrated to Canada from England where she studied at the London School of Economics. she trained as a classical dancer in the North Indian Kathak style under a great guru, and was surprised to discover that classical dance in Toronto was limited to ballet and modern dance. Creating her own opportunities, Rina introduced audiences to the Kathak form. Rina trained as a teacher and is a recognized dance performer, ethnologist, educator and author. Her community involvement includes immigrant aid, work with deaf children, arts education, and community development in a variety of multicultural initiatives.

1993 | Sandi Ross

Sandi Ross came to Canada from Minneapolis, Minnesota, fourteen years ago. She came with nine years of professional theatre experience and a B.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Minnesota. As a black actor working in Canada at a time when actors of colour were considered a risk, Sandi found few in the performing arts who would take her seriously. Sandi persisted in her performing career, earning theatre credits across the country: Theatre Passe Muraille, Magnus Theatre, Toronto Workshop Productions, Stratford Festival, Theatre London and Factory Theatre. In addition to theatre, Sandi has also worked in film and television including ENG, Street Legal and Night Heat.