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Ottawa, December 16, 2009 – Toronto videographer and filmmaker Mike Hoolboom is the winner of the 2009 Bell Award in Video Art announced the Canada Council for the Arts today. The $10,000 prize has been awarded annually since 1991 for exceptional contribution by a video artist or artists to the advancement of video art in Canada and to the development of video practices. The Canada Council administers the award.
Mr. Hoolboom was selected by a peer assessment committee made up of Daniel Dion (Montreal), Midi Onodera (Toronto) and Jayce Salloum (Vancouver).
Mr. Hoolboom has produced 16 films and videos which have been screened around the world. He has been honoured with eleven international retrospectives of his work, most recently in Poland and Argentina. He also received two lifetime achievement awards; the first from the city of Toronto, and the second from the Mediawave Festival in Hungary. He is a founding member of the Pleasure Dome screening collective and has worked as the artistic director of the Images Festival and as the experimental film co-ordinator at Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Since 2004 he has been working on Fringe Online, a web project which provides access to the archives of a number of Canadian media artists.
Artist Mike Hoolboom wins Bell Award by Peter Saltsman
(National Post, December 17, 2009)
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced Mike Hoolboom as the winner of the Bell Award in Video Art. The Toronto-based videographer and experimental filmmaker is being honoured with the $10,000 prize for his significant contribution to the advancement of video art in Canada. He has produced more than 50 films, which have been displayed at any of 11 international retrospective exhibitions of his work. Hoolboom also works closely with screening collectives and fringe film festivals. He has been awarded lifetime achievement awards from the City of Toronto and the Mediawave Festival in Hungary.
Toronto fringe filmmaker Hoolboom wins award (CBC, Dec. 16, 2009)
Toronto videographer and filmmaker Mike Hoolboom has won the $10,000 Bell Award in Video Art, the Canada Council for the Arts announced Wednesday.
Hoolboom is a leading fringe filmmaker, videomaker and curator. Since 2004, he has been working on Fringe Online, a web project that presents the works of Canadian media artists. He is a founding member of the Pleasure Dome screening collective, a former artistic director of the Images Festival and experimental film co-ordinator at Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
Hoolboom’s numerous works include 2009’s Mark, 2006’s Fascination and 1998’s Panic Bodies. He also has been recognized for his films dealing with AIDS, including Letters from Home. He has made more than 50 films, but celebrates the impermanence of his work, often destroying or recutting old videos. Hoolboom has had 12 international retrospectives of his films, including recent shows in Poland and Argentina. He also has received lifetime achievement awards from the city of Toronto and the Mediawave Festival in Hungary.
The award, administered by the Canada Council, recognizes exceptional contribution to the advancement of video art and practices in Canada.
Statement by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on the Occasion of the Presentation of the Bell Award in Video Art
OTTAWA, December 16, 2009 – Canada is rich in talented artists who draw from their passion and their cultural heritage to allow us to discover their vision of the world. Through their works, they entertain, inform, and inspire us. Our Government knows just how much these creators contribute to our culture, our quality of life, the vitality of our society, and the growth of our economy. That is why we are proud to make sound investments through the Department of Canadian Heritage and a number of other federal organizations, including the Canada Council for the Arts. The Bell Award in Video Art is presented annually by the Canada Council for the Arts to a Canadian artist (or group of artists) in this discipline who have made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of the art form through videos, video installations, or Web-based video art. On behalf of the Prime Minister and our Government, I would like to congratulate Mike Hoolboom, this year’s winner of the Bell Award in Video Art, who has earned this honour through the quality of his work. We are proud of the part you play in the cultural life of our country.
