The Barrie Arts Awards 2023 gala was held on November 14th at the MacLaren Art Centre and featured award presentations in seven categories, performances demonstrating the diverse talent in our region, and celebration of the sector. The event has played a significant role in strengthening and profiling the dynamic arts community in the city, and in engaging the business and philanthropic sectors in supporting the arts in Barrie since 2008.
Each year, nominations are accepted from the community for recognition of excellence in the arts and contributions to the community. Nominations are reviewed and winners are selected by a committee of independent jurors consisting of culture workers from outside of the community. This year the City received a record 42 nominations.
Award Winners
Most Promising Youth Award - Arianna Goarley
Arianna Goarley is a 16-year-old filmmaker, dancer, actor and singer from Barrie, who despite her relatively young age is taking a leadership role by teaching, choreographing, directing, and more. Last year Arianna founded Club Etre Canada and has met with girls ages 9-17 to talk about leadership and what it means to be a girl in the world today.
This year, Arianna produced and directed the short film The Tea Party, which includes the impact of living with ADHD as one of its core themes. She was invited to Los Angeles to screen it at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, as well as gave a presentation to the Simcoe County District School Board, creating a platform for increased awareness of ADHD while showcasing the talent of Barrie filmmakers. The film was ultimately screened at the Barrie Film Festival’s Short Film Showcase, taking home the People’s Choice Award, and placing second in the high school category.
Arianna also served as the assistant choreographer to the recent Kempenfelt Community Players production of The Big One-Oh. She hopes to continue her arts education by attending Creative Industries at Toronto Metropolitan University once she has graduated from high school.
Most Promising Youth Award winner Arianna Goarley with Sandra Ballantyne from Rhubarb Media
Emerging Artist Award presented by Georgian College DVA - Alix Markman
Alix Markman grew up in the Barrie arts scene, first performing in and later directing various theatre, high school, and other community productions. While at Barrie Central Collegiate, Alix participated in nearly every artistic outlet she could, taking courses in Music, Drama, and Writing.
After falling in love with screenwriting, Alix chose to continue her studies at Toronto Metropolitan University and UCLA, earning a degree in Radio and Television specializing in screenwriting and an International Professional Certificate in Film and Television. While at TMU, she completed numerous scripts and short films, one of which was selected to screen as an official selection in the Barrie Film Festival.
Alix has since launched her screenwriting career in live-action and animated TV shows, as well as video-game creation for companies such as WB Games and Disney. She earned her first TV writers' room job before she finished her undergrad and has gone on to fill numerous roles such as story or script coordinator, executive story editor, and advanced writer. For her efforts, she has been nominated or a finalist for awards that include WGC Screenwriting Award for Best Writing and Canadian Game Award for Best Narrative.
As a queer and neurodivergent artist, Alix is committed to creating opportunities for marginalized creatives. Her original script, Revenant, about a queer ex-demon's quest for revenge, was a finalist for the Magee TV Diverse Screenwriters Mentorship Award in 2020. While on Gotham Knights, she worked closely with consultants at AbleGamers to create a positive and nuanced representation of Barbara Gordon, a canonically disabled character, and her work on Astrid & Lilly was widely praised for its positive representation of fat, queer, BIPOC, and neurodivergent characters.
Emerging Artist Award winner Alix Markman with Amy Bagshaw from Georgian College DVA
Artist Beyond Barriers Award presented by City of Barrie’s Senior and Accessibility Advisory Committee - Marilyn Lamb
Marilyn Lamb is a lifelong Barrie resident and has been an active member of the Barrie Writers' Club for thirty years currently serving as Past President and Community Contact. When the pandemic hit and everything closed, she made it her personal mission to keep the Barrie Writers' Club going on a virtual format rather than see it disappear. The club still meets via Skype as well as twice a month at the downtown branch of the Barrie Public Library.
Marilyn has indie-published three novels, Blood Covenant, On Ravyn's Wing and Dark Temptation. In addition, she has written articles for a local business magazine and won several writing awards in the Toronto Romance Writers Catherine Competition. On Ravyn's Wing was awarded five-star ratings from the Readers Favorite web site. Operating a small editing/publishing company, Free Spirit Press, she also assists other writers in getting their works into print. Currently, she is putting together a compiled paperback version of Dark Temptation to be released in the near future.
Despite being sight challenged, Marilyn has used technology to bring her stories to fruition and to keep her small press running. A writer since her teens, it has always been a driving force in Marilyn’s life.
Artist Beyond Barriers Award winner Marilyn Lamb with Catherine from the City's Seniors & Accessibility Advisory Committee
Business Champion Award - Al Jones
Al Jones is the President of A. Jones Wealth and Estate Planning Inc. in Barrie. He is passionate about giving back to his community and is a true trail blazer. He was a two-term President of the Innisfil Chamber of Commerce and a past Chairman of the Board of the People's Credit Union, the first person of colour to chair those boards. He is also a Past-Convenor of the Simcoe Scotch Nosing Society.
Over the last five years, Al has played an important role in supporting Theatre by the Bay (TBTB). Utilizing his business network and personal investments, Al is the perfect demonstration of how Barrie business owners can support the arts. Al first became involved in Theatre by the Bay's work in 2016 during its first full-scale local story production, 'WE MUST HAVE MORE MEN!'. Recognizing the production as a way to engage youth in local history, Al purchased multiple school performances so that students could see the play free-of-charge. He also brought representatives from the military to see the show and speak to the students after.
Due to the nature of Al's client-based business, he holds client appreciation nights. Over the last few years, TBTB has had the opportunity to perform snippets of its upcoming shows for Al’s clientele. By purposely curating engagements between TBTB’s artists and businesses, Al is developing new audiences and supporters of Barrie’s arts scene.
Al has also been a member of the Honourable Guard of the Grey & Simcoe Foresters Regiment for more than 10 years and is committed to the regiment's mantra to promote, educate, and support our Canadian Armed Services.
Business Champion Award winner Al Jones with Andrea Chiodo from Flying Monkeys
Contribution to the Community Award – Canadian Musicians Co-operative
At the Canadian Musicians Co-operative, their motto is “We do more together!” Their programming actively works to reduce barriers and increase access to the legitimate industry supports that the artistic community desperately needs in the 21st Century. Since their modest beginning in 2018, they have grown from a local organization with 14 members to a nationally recognized co-operative arts service organization that is inclusive and welcoming to over 250 members across Canada. They are both a volunteer and disability-led organization, and recruit and represent a very strong population of participants who belong to one or more equity-seeking populations, including those who identify as LGBTQ2+, BIPOC, women and persons with disabilities.
Providing equitable access to artist development is a significant part of the Co-op’s programming, and a core reason why they exist. Each year the Co-op offers full-time summer employment opportunities to over two hundred youth pursuing careers in the arts and arts administration through the Emerging Artist Program and the Pre-Professional Artist Program. Funded by the Government of Canada and various municipalities, this program provides youth with a summer contract and workshops, training, community-engaged performance, mentorship, and collaboration that gives them both the time and the opportunity to build a strong foundation for their future and focus their efforts on improvement.
The Co-op delivers 75+ workshops each year which feature industry experts on numerous topics related to both artistry and industry, ensuring they are led by professionals that represent and respect the values of the communities they serve. They also lease space where they have created a livestream recording studio and training facility that is affordable for independent artists and community groups alike. In addition, the Co-op operates the No More Starving Artists Program, which actively reduces food waste within our community while supporting local professional artists.
Contribution to the Community Award winner Canadian Musicians Co-operative with Bruno Smokey
Excellence in the Arts Award - Roy Hickling
Roy Hickling is a mixed-media artist, seventh-generation farmer, and singer-songwriter guitar player from the Barrie area. He was drawn to music and art from a young age. He picked up guitar while at university but it was not until his early thirties when he made his first forays into the visual arts. In 1996 Roy burst onto the artistic scene with a two-year environmental art project that combined his expertise in agriculture, Saskatchewan artist Joe Fafard's horse imagery and the ability of the MacLaren Art Centre to bring the community together around a rather grand idea – the creation of a 50-acre picture for the International Plowing Match. The resulting MacLaren Against the Grain: The Fafard Field Project received national media attention and critical acclaim.
Roy's visual arts practice combines painting, metal sculpture and environmental art installations, and his music is described as progressive folk or roots music style. His first CD, 'a little time' was launched in 2012. Three of the 15 were songs short-listed for the 2011 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. Roy's follow-up CD, ‘one thing' launched in October 2016 with another sold-out concert and was once again short-listed in the top 8 for the 2015 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. He has finished 150+ song recordings at this point, with plans for a couple of new albums to be released in 2024. His lyrics include musings on farming, family, painting, creativity, and philosophy, as well as harbouring spirituality, humor, history, and environmental advocate.
In 2021 Roy was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinsons and is choosing to live the with the burgeoning disabilities and changes within his life “out loud”. As such he is entering into several artistic collaborations with his peers in order to continue seeing where the artist muse will take them. Currently two collaborations are open for public and online viewing - the Triple Square Meadow and the Red Pine Tree Sculpture, both large-scale environmental art projects.
Excellence in the Arts Award winner Roy Hickling with Arkady Spivak from Talk is Free Theatre
Cultural Changemaker Award - Bruce Owen
Born in 1931, Bruce Owen was a steadfast leader in the Barrie Arts community throughout his adult life. He was an accomplished singer, known for singing in almost every Christian church in Barrie, and despite being Anglican, served as a soloist for the papal choir when the Pope came to the area in the 1980’s. He had a devoted local following, producing four popular LPs of his singing.
Bruce’s contributions to the Barrie arts sector are numerous and span generations. In 1959, he took on the role of Chief organizer for Barrie Concerts, a position he held until 2022. In the early 1970’s he was a member of the leadership team that created Kempenfest, and in 1990, he founded the Georgian Music Series, serving as Chief organizer of concerts until 2022. From 2003 to 2014, Bruce ran the Colours of Music festival which saw 50 concerts performed over ten days, including some in Barrie schools. In 2000, he founded yet another music series, Music at St. Andrew’s, organizing monthly piano and organ chamber music concerts until 2022.
During this time, Bruce gave back to his community in other ways as well. He organized the funding to procure two $180,000 Shigeru-Kawaii pianos which are currently located at Hi-Way Pentecostal and Bethel Community Church. He also hosted an interview-style TV show on CKVR, a weekly local radio show, and wrote a weekly column for the Barrie Examiner, often discussing music and the arts.
In addition to his engagement in the arts scene, Bruce also served as a leader in the community – president of the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, and Mental Health Association, as well as alderman and MPP. He practiced law in Barrie for 63 years in many areas and was a small claims court Judge for many years. He was part of the leadership that brought Barrie Centennial Park, the current RVH building and MRI. Bruce was the recipient of the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award and the Province of Ontario’s June Callwood Leadership Award.
Bruce passed away on February 6, 2022, leaving a lasting mark on Barrie’s arts scene and a legacy of volunteerism across Canada.
Bruce Owen's Family Accepting his Cultural Changemaker Award
Award Statuettes
Annually, a local artist is selected to design the award statuettes, which are original pieces and are works of art in themselves. It is a unique tradition for the Barrie Arts Awards. The statuettes are authentic Canadian art and representative of the high-quality work happening in the community. This year’s award was created by Nic Rodrigo, who is a sculptor and dancer. Working mostly with wood, stone, plaster, and iron filings, his artworks reference spiritual, and philosophical traditions from around the world. Nic is also the woodshop technician in Georgian College’s Fine Arts department and has recently continued post-secondary art studies at York University.
2024 Arts Awards
Nominations will open for the 2024 Barrie Arts Awards in summer 2024. Subscribe to the Culture Pop newsletter to learn about this program and other opportunities in the arts sector.
For complete winner biographies and information about award categories, please visit www.barrie.ca/ArtsAwards.
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