MASC Arts Awards

MASC has hosted the MASC Arts Awards since 1999. This gala event recognizes passionate young artists in the Ottawa region who would benefit from support in exploring their artistic interests. Held in partnership with key local arts organizations who generously offer year-long scholarships to the winners, this celebratory event takes place at the National Arts Centre each spring.

The 2024-2025 school year marks MASC's 35th anniversary, and we will be dedicating our time and resources to celebrating this important milestone with the community. MASC will host a celebration at the National Arts Centre in May, where we will reflect on the incredible impact the arts have had on our city.

For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to put the MASC Arts Awards on hiatus for 2024-2025. We look forward to bringing the event back in the future and continuing to foster the artistic development of local youth.

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MASC Arts Awards is a celebration of students in Grades 6 to 8 who are passionate, creative and would benefit from support to explore their artistic development outside the school setting. All nominated students were honoured at the 24th MASC Arts Awards on Wednesday, May 2024 at 7pm, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Check out the video above to revisit MASC Arts Awards 2019, and check out photos below of MASC Arts Awards 2024.

The 5 winners received a scholarship to pursue studies in their art discipline:

  • Leah Leblanc who won a scholarship to attend music classes at Allegro Music School
  • Ayodeji Peters who won a scholarship to attend visual arts classes at the Ottawa School of Art
  • Heather Ripmeester who won a scholarship to attend dance classes at The School of Dance
  • Seraphina Dickinson-Heeroo who won a scholarship to attend drama classes at The Ottawa Children’s Theatre
  • DeJanelle Lovell who won a Literary Arts Mentorship with Professional Author, Wayne Ng

Three other recipients received the Jennifer Cayley Award, the Jan Andrews Literary Award and the Molly Ellens Award:

  • Kaylee Fragnito who won the Molly Ellens Award
  • Alex Mathew who won the Jennifer Cayley Award
  • Lulia Hagos who won the Jan Andrews Literary Award

In addition, a free MASC workshop was offered to the class of each winning student.

Criteria of eligibility:

  • The student demonstrates an exceptional passion for the arts
  • The student has had limited opportunities for arts education beyond the school setting
  • The student lives in the National Capital Region

The MASC Arts Awards are generously sponsored by the French Family, Boyden, and offered in partnership with the National Arts Centre.

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What people are saying

When I initially entered, I hadn’t been feeling very confident about my writing – but knowing that I won an award for something that I’d written, helped me realize that I do have potential… It’s a huge honour.

— Kailey Rennals, 2019 Winner of the Jan Andrews Literary Award

I think [the winners] will receive some very unique opportunities to learn how to express themselves creatively they wouldn’t otherwise cross paths with.

— Candice Bruchauser, 2001 MASC Arts Award Winner & 2015 Jennifer Cayley Award Winner

Those skills that you learn through the arts… [it’s] a different way of engaging with humanity and society that you can apply to whatever it is that you’re doing.

— Stefan Keyes, 2000 Winner of the Theatre Award

Writing hasn't just been weaved into my life, it's been the driving factor behind most things. I don't go more than two days without writing something, or I feel like something is off kilter. Who knows if I'd still be at it, if you hadn't believed in me then. I have no idea what my life would look like otherwise. You really did just hand over a box of absolute happiness, faith, and opportunity, to a thirteen year old on the cusp of discovering something really incredible. The night of the MASC Arts Awards event, I told my parents, "I feel like an empty glass and tonight was just a jug of happiness being poured in until it overflowed." What a gift.

— Leticia Alvarez, 2013 Winner of the Literary Arts Award, Mentorship with Frances Itani

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