The CCA hosts its 47th annual awards gala

On September 15, 2006, the Canadian Conference of the Arts had the privilege to honour Bluma Appel and Pat Durr for their long standing contribution and leadership in the Canadian arts and cultural sector.

Presented at Queen's Park by the Honourable James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Bluma Appel was the 99^th recipient of the Diplôme d'honneur since its inception in 1954. During her acceptance speech, Mrs. Appel said she was humbled by the occasion. Grinning the entire time, she cited her many failures in just as many disciplines - music, painting, acting, directing and producing. Accepting these failures, she added that "you don't have to be talented to enjoy the arts. And without an appreciative audience there is no place for the artist. So I got an education. You can learn a lot more from failure than from success." Speaking of successes on the other hand, and she has many to speak of, she highlighted her creating the American Friends of Canada, whose Board included David Rockefeller - Henry Ford - Armand Hammer; being appointed by P.M. Trudeau to act as Liaison to Industry, which led to every bank appointing a woman on their Board and of course, starting CanFAR, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, in 1987.

Lieutenant Governor Bartleman also granted Ms. Pat Durr the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership. Ms. Durr, who has worked in cultural advocacy while remaining an active and an accomplished visual artist, was appreciative of this honour in her acceptance speech. But she insisted to say that without the support and the efforts of many others like Jack Chambers, Jane Condon, Jennifer Dickson and Pierre-Léon Tétreault, her own work would not have been possible. "Their foundation enabled me to achieve the gains for the visual arts that I fought for at the municipal, provincial and federal levels," said Ms. Durr as she accepted the award.

Joining Patt Durr and Bluma Appel, the ceremony and reception was attended by some of Canada's most important artists and cultural professionals - each having been touched one way or another by the work of this year's two winners.

The CCA, once again would like to express our most sincere congratulations to Pat Durr and Bluma Appel as well as thank them for all they have achieved, strived to achieve and have yet to achieve on matters of arts and culture in Canada.

The CCA would also like to express its profound gratitude and thanks to the Honourable James K. Bartleman for so graciously and generously hosting the event.

Bluma Appel's acceptance speech
Pat Durr's acceptance speech

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, July 1, 2006.

"Today, Canada is a leader. Our businesses, our athletes, our artists, musicians and writers, all excel on the world stage and our country leads by example, standing up for the values that make Canada great - helping to ensure the spread of freedom, democracy and the rule of law around the world."
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressing the crowd gathered for Canada Day Celebrations, Ottawa, ON, July 1, 2006.

Lea Vivot on her Secret Bench of Knowledge

"It was about 9 o'clock in the evening, early in May 1989, when sculptor Lea Vivot deposited her work, Secret Bench, Lost Paradise, in front of the building. Because of its weight (315 kilograms), a truck with a winch was needed to put the sculpture in place. When people arrived for work the next morning, they were delighted to see the new addition and assumed that it had been put there by another government department."
- Library and Archives Canada (2000)

"The building needed something and I don't feel that artists have the time to go through the bureaucratic approach. In the same amount of time that it would take to go through all this (bureaucracy) I can cast another sculpture and enhance another space."
- Lea Vivot on her Secret Bench of Knowledge (Ottawa Citizen, Friday, April 20, 1990)

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