## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [Kent Monkman to receive Governor General’s Award ](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/3142) March 5, 2025 # Kent Monkman to receive Governor General’s Award ![Colour photo of Kent Monkman holding a paintbrush, seated in front of his art work. ](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-03/Kent-Monkman_RislingToronto-Star-via-Getty-Images-e1602619694718.jpg.webp?itok=iX8PkGI2) rgb(255,255,255) Cree visual artist Kent Monkman is one of eight extraordinary artists who will receive the [Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts](https://en.ggarts.ca/kent-monkman), which comes with a $25,000 prize and bronze medallion. Monkman, who received an honorary doctorate from OCAD University in 2017, was nominated for the award by Naomi Johnson, executive director of imagineNATIVE. In her nomination statement, Johnson wrote, “Kent has inspired generations of artists and challenged larger Canadian conceptions of its history and its relations to Indigenous people… \[He has showed the\] consistent care, dignity, and respect he has for the subject matter he explores but more importantly for the Indigenous people whose stories he is putting forth.” **About Kent Monkman** Monkman is well-known for his provocative reinterpretations of romantic North American landscapes. Themes of colonization, sexuality, loss and resilience – the complexities of historic and contemporary Native American experience – are explored in a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance and installation. Monkman has created memorable site-specific performances at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, The Royal Ontario Museum, The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Compton Verney, and most recently at the Denver Art Museum. His work has been exhibited internationally and is widely represented in the collections of major museums in Canada and the United States. The Canada Council for the Arts celebrates the exceptional careers of artists from Canada with the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. These awards are the most prestigious distinctions for artistic merit and outstanding contribution to the visual and media arts in Canada. The presentation of the award will be held later in 2025. Source: [Canada Council for the Arts](https://en.ggarts.ca/) Image credit: Observer/Toronto Star via Getty Images ## Other Recent News [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. 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October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. November 6, 2026 ](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus) [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. 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