Three people with Nova Scotia ties were named recipients yesterday for the 2009 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Sculpture artist John Greer of West Dublin, Lunenburg Co., interdisciplinary artist and Antigonish native Rita McKeough and Halifax-born glass sculptor Kevin Lockau will each receive their awards at a ceremony tonight at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
There were nine winners in total, with each receiving $25,000.
Greer and McKeough won for artistic achievement, with Lockau taking his award for excellence in fine crafts.
Greer was the catalyst behind Halifax Sculpture, a 1990s movement rooted in minimalism and conceptualism. He also taught at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for more than 25 years.
McKeough, who now lives in Calgary, has been working as an artist for more than 30 years, and has contributed to performance and installation art.
Lockau, who resides in Ontario, is known for inventing three hot glass casting techniques, which are used to combine animal, natural and human forms.
