Artist Janvier nominated for prestigious award

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Cold Lake artist Alex Janvier, recognized in international art circles, has been nominated for the prestigious Sir Fredrick Haultain Award.

Cold Lake town council submitted Janvier's name last month.

Successful candidates receive an Alberta heritage Scholarship Trust Fund award presented annually to citizen's or groups playing a leading role in the arts, sciences of humanities. Three cash prizes of $25,000 each are given to winners in the three categories.

Janvier, whose work has taken him to Europe and the Orient, is a full-time resident at English Bay, one of the three reserve portions that make up the Cold Lake First Nations. Repsonding to the nomination, Janvier said "it's quite an honor for the town to put my name up."

His works are currently being shown at an all-Native exhibit and sales in Los Angeles, California. This show, the Museum of Civilization exhibit, is being sponsored by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and promoted by actor John Vernon. Other artists represented at the show are Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Allen Sapp, Jane Ash Poitras and Jan Cardinal Shubert.

Janvier wil later exhibit his work in a travelling show that will go through several major U.S. cities.

The Sir Frederick Haultain award is a $100 millino program established in Alberta in 1980. The cash prizes are given as an endowment of the Heritage Savings Trust Fund and administered by the Student Finance Board. Haultain was the prime force behind the move to grant provincial status to Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905.

Former winners of the award include Colonel and Mrs. Eric Cormack who work among the mentally handicapped. Cormack is well-known in Native circles for extensive volunteer work as a consultant to Native organizations and reserves through the Canadian Executive Services Overseas (CESO).

A government selection committee will be meeting later this week to being the applicant elimination process and will select the winners in May.

Awards will be presented at a dinner at Government House in Edmonton.