MASC Arts Awards celebrates young people with an exceptional passion for the arts

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. This year’s awards presentation is hosted by Stefan Keyes and features a special performance by Honorary Patron and MASC artist Claudia Salguero.

The 5 winners – to be announced at the 22nd MASC Arts Awards on Friday, May 12, 2023, at the National Arts Centre – will receive a year-long scholarship to pursue studies in their art discipline with: Allegro Music Schools; Ottawa Children’s Theatre; Ottawa School of Art; The School of Dance; and mentorship with local author, Laurie Gough. A free MASC workshop will be offered to the class of each winning student.

Two more awards will be presented at this gala event. The Molly Ellens Award, named for a beloved volunteer, offers a generous supply of visual arts materials to a young artist. The Jennifer Cayley Award, named for MASC’s co-founder, is awarded to a previous MASC Arts Award winner who, years later, still incorporates the arts into their everyday life: this year the recipient is Leticia Alvarez, who received the Literary Arts Award ten years ago.

Earlier this year, Ottawa-Gatineau teachers were invited to nominate students for these awards, according to the following criteria: the student demonstrates an exceptional passion for the arts; and the student has had limited opportunities for arts education beyond the school setting. All nominated students (24 in total, listed below) will receive awards designed by Aurora Finkle, a Plains Cree artist from Peepeekisis First Nation.

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“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 handover 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. There’s so many more things I could say, but for now, I just want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

Leticia Alvarez, MASC Literary Arts Award Winner 2013

“I had recently joined [a theatre] school on scholarship through an arts education organization called MASC and had way less formal training than my peers. It was pivotal because I realized my life opportunities didn’t have to be limited by my financial circumstances.”

Stefan Keyes, MASC Theatre Award Winner 2000