The City of Vaughan Honours Outstanding Artists at RAVE Awards
The fourth annual RAVE (Recognizing Arts Vaughan Excellence) Awards reception was held on November 1, at Vaughan City Hall. Established in 2008, the RAVE Awards formally recognize the contributions made by individuals, businesses and organizations to the visual, performing and literary arts in Vaughan.
Nominations for the RAVE Awards were accepted in the following art disciplines: visual arts, performing arts and literary arts. Within each art discipline, nominations were received in one of the following four categories: patron of the arts, art educator/mentor, practicing artist and rising star. All nominations were reviewed by a panel of professionals representing the three art disciplines.
This year’s winners in each category are as follows:
- Woodbridge Art School & Gallery, Patron of the Arts
- Amanda Ciccoritti, Practicing Artist
- Karolina Ficek, Rising Star
- Carisse Samuel, Rising Star
- Virginia Selvaggi, Music School of Music, Art Educator/Mentor
- Amanda Defacendis, Rising Star
- Simona Genga, Rising Star
- Madeline Smart, Rising Star
- Debbie Ouellet, Art Educator/ Mentor
- Cristina Rizzuto, Rising Star
A further highlight to the evening was the annual presentation of the City of Vaughan Award for Higher Arts Education established by the City to financially assist Vaughan students pursuing post-secondary education in the arts. Two students who have already earned impressive accolades in the arts were selected: Ye Gyu Kim and Precious Semella both receiving a $3,000 cash award to be used toward their continuing education in the arts.
The annual RAVE Awards and the Award for Higher Arts Education are organized by the City of Vaughan. For more information, please contact Sharon Gaum-Kuchar, Arts Coordinator at 905-832-8585 ext. 7428.