Awards of Excellence - Creative City Network of Canada

Celebrating the outstanding achievements of Canadian municipalities in Cultural Planning, Public Art, and Cultural Events. The CCNC Awards of Excellence are presented at the Creative City Summit.

General Eligibility for all Awards:

Open to CCNC Class A voting (municipal) members in good standing at the time of the beginning of the awards process. This includes the following entities that have applied and been accepted for Class A voting membership in the Corporation:

Municipal governments and Band Councils;
Regional governments;
Officially designated local cultural planning and cultural policy bodies.

* Municipalities may self-nominate for all awards EXCEPT the Cultural Leadership Award.

These Awards are not open to Class B non-voting (organizational and individual) members. This includes: Provincial, territorial and federal governments in Canada; Governing authorities in other countries; Not-for-profits; Businesses; Educational institutions; and Individuals.

Selection Process:

The CCNC Awards Program promotes a principled and effective adjudication process. A volunteer peer jury conducts a review of all submissions and selects the successful candidates. The recipients are celebrated at the CCNC’s annual summit. The jury may decide to not bestow an award in any given year. The current standing CCNC Board of Directors, and by extension their municipalities, are not eligible to serve on the Awards Program Jury.

2022 Awards:

Read our Release outlining the award recipients in 2022 HERE.

2023 Awards:

Nominations will open in the late spring.

Cultural Planning Award

The Cultural Planning Award recognizes a Canadian municipality* that has developed, adopted, and implemented an excellent Culture Plan with a process that demonstrates outstanding visionary leadership and best practices in cultural planning or a Canadian municipality that has reviewed, revitalized and implemented a previously adopted Culture Plan.

Eligibility for Award
This award is open to a Canadian municipality* that developed, adopted and implemented a Culture Plan within 36 months of the Awards Program submission deadline. (This award is also open to a Canadian municipality that has reviewed, revitalized, and implemented a previously adopted Culture Plan within 36 months of the Awards Program submission deadline).

* Municipalities may self-nominate.

∗ Includes eligible organizations as outlined in General Eligibility for all Awards.
- Municipal Governments
- Regional Governments
- Arts Councils
- Band Councils

Award Criteria
1. Demonstrates excellence in cultural planning practice;
2. Demonstrates the collaborative processes of public engagement using creative engagement tools and techniques; and shows the integration of the information gathered from the public process;
3. Embodies accessibility, diversity and inclusivity;
4. Identifies, assesses, and leverages the municipality’s cultural assets and resources;
5. Demonstrates a strategic integration with local government services;
6. Demonstrates an effective implementation strategy, including monitoring and evaluation, where applicable;
7. Contributes to vitality of the community through integration of all aspects of sustainability (cultural, social, economic and environmental);
8. Encourages an innovative approach and a vision relevant to the community.

Past recipients:

2022 – Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan To Transform Arts and Heritage In Edmonton, Edmonton Arts Council

2019 – Walking Together – Growing Connections Through Culture, City of Maple Ridge, BC

2018 – Create Victoria: Arts and Culture Master Plan, City of Victoria, BC

2017 – 2016-2026 Culture Plan, City of Moncton, NB

2016 – Transforming Hamilton Through Culture, City of Hamilton, ON

Public Art Awards

The Public Art Award recognizes a Canadian municipality* that demonstrated visionary leadership by supporting an excellent program and process that led to a successful public art project or program.

In 2022, this award will be altered to recognize public art in two categories:

Sustainability Award
Eligibility
This award is open to a Canadian municipality that unveiled a public art project within 24 months of the Awards Program submission deadline or has an ongoing public art program.

* Municipalities may self-nominate.

∗ Includes eligible organizations as outlined in General Eligibility for all Awards.
- Municipal governments and Band Councils;
- Regional governments; and
- Arts Councils.
Award Criteria
1. Demonstrates excellence in the field of public art practice and arts administration.
2. Exemplifies the power of public art to enhance connections between people, place and culture.
3. Includes a public engagement component and the artwork – whether permanent or temporary – is accessible to the public.
4. Demonstrates best practice to achieve the optimum fit among community aspirations, public benefit and artistic practice;
5. Demonstrates, if applicable, a fair and equitable adjudication process;
6. Facilitates community building, cultural development, and community animation;
7. Demonstrates, if applicable, best practice regarding: site selection, request for proposals, community engagement, installation, maintenance and strategic integration with local government services.
8. Integrates the voices of equity-deserving groups, such as IBPOC or 2SLGBTQ+ communities or individuals with disabilities.
9. Meaningfully considers best practices of equity, accessibility, and/or sustainability.

Legacy Award
Eligibility
This award is open to a Canadian municipality that unveiled a public art project within 24 months of the Awards Program submission deadline or has an ongoing public art program.

* Municipalities may self-nominate.

∗ Includes eligible organizations as outlined in General Eligibility for all Awards.
- Municipal governments and Band Councils;
- Regional governments; and
- Arts Councils.
Award Criteria
1. Demonstrates excellence in the field of public art practice and arts administration.
2. Exemplifies the power of public art to enhance connections between people, place and culture.
3. Includes a public engagement component and the artwork is accessible to the public.
4. Demonstrates best practice to achieve the optimum fit among community aspirations, public benefit and artistic practice;
5. Demonstrates, if applicable, a fair and equitable adjudication process;
6. Facilitates community building, cultural development, and community animation;
7. Demonstrates, if applicable, best practice regarding: site selection, request for proposals, community engagement, installation, maintenance and strategic integration with local government services.
8. Integrates the voices of equity-deserving groups, such as IBPOC or 2SLGBTQ+ communities or individuals with disabilities.
9. Meaningfully considers best practices of equity, accessibility, and/or sustainability.

Past recipients:

2022 Legacy Award – Alderville First Nation Commemoration Project: Manidoo Ogitigan (Spirit Garden) by Terence Radford, City of Kingston, ON

2022 Sustainability Award – Blissful Release, City of Mississauga, ON

2019 – ABᐄᓃᐤ(ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞, Edmonton Arts Council

2018 – Into the Debris Field: The Halifax Explosion, Halifax Regional Municipality, NS

2017 – Tsa Tsa Ke K’e (Iron Foot Place), Edmonton Arts Council

2016 – Winnipeg Arts Council Public Art Program, City of Winnipeg, MB

Cultural Events Award

The Cultural Events Award recognizes a Canadian municipality* that demonstrated visionary leadership by initiating, creating, and producing an exceptional cultural event or by empowering and supporting a community initiative that led to an exceptional cultural event. Cultural events can include celebrations, festivals, exhibitions, performances, and programs.

Eligibility for Award
This award is open to a Canadian municipality* that initiated, created and produced a Cultural Event or empowered their community to produce a Cultural Event within 24 months of the Awards Program submission deadline. It is also open to a Canadian municipality* that initiated, created and produced an ongoing Cultural Event or empowered their community to produce an ongoing Cultural Event.
* Municipalities may self-nominate.

∗ Includes eligible organizations as outlined in General Eligibility for all Awards.
- Municipal governments and Band Councils;
- Regional governments; and
- Arts Councils.

Past recipients:

2022 – Shine Bright New West, City of New Westminster, AB

2019 – New Year’s Eve Celebration, City of Calgary, AB

2018 – Engage for Change: #YGK Reconciliation Journey, City of Kingston, ON

2017 – Canada Day 2016 Our City, Our Country, Our Celebration, City of Calgary, AB

2016 – The Northern International Children’s Festival of the Arts, City of St Albert, AB with Honourable Mention, Richmond Maritime Festival (City of Richmond, BC)

Cultural Leadership Award

The Cultural Leadership Award recognizes significant contributions by individuals working in the field of local cultural planning, programs, and services who have shown inspired leadership and exceptional dedication to supporting the work and the vision of the Creative City Network of Canada.

Eligibility for Award

Past recipients:

2019 – Rebecca Cann, Janis A. Barlow and Associates

2018 – Elena Bird, City of Toronto, ON

2017 – Dr. Nancy Duxbury

2016 – Burke Taylor, Taylor-Harvey Inc., and Co-director, Centre for Cultural Planning and Development, UBC

I.D.E.A. Award

The I.D.E.A. Award recognizes significant contributions by an individual, organization, or municipality working in the cultural sector that exemplifies the principles of I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) through cultural programs and initiatives including reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and communities.

Eligibility for Award
The I.D.E.A. Award is intended to allow CCNC members to recognize individuals, organizations, or municipalities whose cultural program, service, plan, policy, event, or public art project advances the Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Access (I.D.E.A.) work in the cultural sector. The I.D.E.A. Award can recognize specific ongoing cultural initiatives or wider contributions to the sector. Municipal, individual, and organizational CCNC members (Class A Voting or Class B Non-voting) may be nominated for this award.

Self-nominations are allowed but must be accompanied by a letter of support from a community organization or Indigenous community that has itself and/or its members directly benefited from the work of the nominee. The organization or community group providing the letter of support does not need to be a CCNC member.
- Municipalities
- Organizations
- Individuals

Award Criteria
- Exemplifies excellence in the realization of a cultural program, service, plan, policy, event or public art project through the lenses of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, including Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and Communities, or, exemplifies the application of these principles through wider contributions to the sector.
- Demonstrates an inclusive process that has allowed the voices of equity-deserving peoples to be actively and meaningfully involved in the design and/or delivery of an initiative.
And any of the following:
- Demonstrates a commitment to diversity by sharing the cultural forms and voices of equity-deserving peoples to enhance their sense of belonging or build connections to other members of the community.
- Demonstrates a commitment to equity by using culture as a tool to highlight or address injustices within an institution or system.
- Demonstrates a commitment to accessibility by identifying and overcoming physical, financial, intellectual, linguistic and other barriers to access to ensure engagement and/or participation by all members of a community.
- Demonstrates a commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples or Communities, including through meaningful relationship-building and engagement, supporting self-determination (i.e., initiative design and delivery) or holding space for representations of Indigeneity.
- Creates a framework to ensure a long-term impact in the community or area served.
- Demonstrates innovations, tools, resources and approaches that can be modeled elsewhere.

2022 – City of Ottawa – Anishinabe Algonquin Nation Civic Cultural Protocol and Implementation Plan (2022–2026), City of Ottawa, ON

Stand Up for Culture Award

The Stand Up for Culture Award recognizes a Canadian municipality that actively recognized the value of culture work in their community over the 2020–2022 time period by lifting up their local culturally focused departments, staff, and/or programs in order to energize their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic on a local level.

Eligibility for Award
This one-time award is open to a Canadian municipality that developed, adopted, adapted, or implemented a program, initiative, or policy over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–present) that ensured their local culture professionals had the resources needed to continue to deliver important community programs or support local artists during lockdowns and reduced work opportunities.

* Municipalities may self-nominate.

In this award, municipality includes:
- Municipal Governments (including cultural leadership in any department, councils, mayors, chief officers)
- Regional Governments
- Band Councils

Award Criteria
- Demonstrated flexibility that allowed culture professionals to implement new programs or supported cultural funding practices to be expedited in the face of uncertainty;
- Identified, assessed, and leveraged the municipality’s cultural assets and resources nimbly and with trust in municipal culture professionals;
- Demonstrated the collaborative processes of public engagement using creative engagement tools and techniques;
- Embodied accessibility, diversity and inclusivity;
- Demonstrated a strategic integration with local government services;
- Demonstrated an effective implementation strategy, including monitoring and evaluation, where applicable;
- Encouraged an innovative approach and a vision relevant to the community’s well-being or local artists/arts organizations’ survival and service of their community during lockdowns and disabling public health restrictions.

2022 – Micro-Grant Project with Pat the Dog, City of Waterloo, ON