CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - TORONTO ARTS AWARDS 🏆
✨ Know an incredible Toronto artist, cultural leader, or business making an impact through the arts? Or maybe that person is you! The Toronto Arts Awards are presented to artists, cultural leaders and businesses in recognition of artistic excellence, cultural leadership and contribution to the arts. The awards are annually presented at several special events, including The Mayor’s Arts Lunch, in the spring and summer.
Nominate yourself or someone whose talent, dedication, and contributions to the city deserve to be recognized. The Awards Portal is now open and the deadline for nominations is November 3rd, 2026.
Click the links below to learn more about each award!
🏆 The Arts for Youth Award is a $20,000 cash prize that celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging Toronto’s youth through the arts.
🏆 The Breakthrough Artist Award is a $10,000 cash prize that celebrates the accomplishments and future potential of an emerging Toronto artist working in any discipline. Artists must be in the early stages of their professional career.
🏆 The Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award is a $10,000 cash prize that celebrates an outstanding Toronto-based jazz artist with two to seven years of experience in the field, as well as artists who may have devoted their career to supporting other artists and are now able to focus on their own solo work. 

🏆 The Celebration of Cultural Life Award is a $10,000 cash prize that recognizes excellence in a senior arts practitioner or leader (a performer, teacher, administrator and/or creator working in any arts discipline, including architecture and design), whose work is a celebration of life through the arts.
🏆 The Che Kothari Artist & Instigator Award is a $10,000 cash prize that supports and encourages a young BIPOC artist who is recognized for their artistic contributions and is making positive change through cultural leadership.

🏆 The Community Arts Award is a $15,000 cash prize that celebrates celebrates an individual artist or arts organization or collective that has made a significant contribution in Toronto by working with, in and for communities, while increasing access to arts and culture. This year the award will be presented to an organization or collective.
🏆 The Cultural Leadership Award is a $10,000 cash prize (with finalists receiving $1,000) that celebrates an individual artist, creator, volunteer or administrator who has
demonstrated creative cultural leadership in the development of arts and culture in Toronto.
🏆 The Indigenous Artist Award is a $20,000 cash prize, with professional artist mentor/Elder or mentee/protégée designated by the Award Recipient receiving $5,000, and finalists receiving $2,000. In addition to the prize money, the recipient will receive a complimentary week long stay at Valleyview Artist Retreat. The award recognizes an Indigenous professional artist or artist collective working in traditional or contemporary practices who has contributed significantly to arts and culture in Toronto and has demonstrated an ongoing association with Toronto.
🏆 The Muriel Sherrin Award is a $10,000 cash prize that celebrates an individual who has contributed to the cultural life of Toronto through outstanding achievement in music or dance, and who has demonstrated a global commitment to the arts. This years award will go to an artist practicing dance.
🏆 The Newcomer Artist Award provides micro-awards of $2,500 to six newcomer (immigrant and refugee) artists. The award aids the integration of newcomer artists into Toronto and Canada by supporting their artistic careers.

🏆 The Newcomer Space Award focuses on providing creation, performance, and/or exhibition spaces to newcomer professional artists who are past recipients of the Newcomer Arts Award.
