Presented with support from
Carol Anderson
2023: Beverly Glenn-Copeland
The Canadian Artists Network is proud to announce Carol Anderson as this year’s recipient of the Robert Johnston Visionary Artist Award.
Carol Anderson (BFA, MA) has enjoyed a diverse career as a dancer, choreographer, educator and writer for more than five decades. She started performing in 1970 with Canadian dance pioneer Judy Jarvis and was a founding member of Toronto’s Dancemakers in 1974. Carol continues to create dance for the stage and non-traditional spaces and now devotes her teaching practice to older movers. Carol is currently a participant in the 2024-25 Citadel Dance Exchange, developing an intergenerational legacy project.
“Carol Anderson is living proof that Creativity Lives Forever,” says Scott Walker, Executive Director of the Canadian Artists Network. “She was one of the first mentors in CAN’s Artist to Artist Mentoring Program, she continues to write, to create dances for older artists in which she also performs, and she continues to help seniors keep active. We are thrilled to honour her with the Robert Johnston Award.”
The Robert Johnston Visionary Artist Award was introduced in 2019 and is named in honour of the late Bob Johnston, one of the Canadian Artists Network’s original board members, whose long career included serving as Deputy Minister of Culture for the Province of Ontario and General Manager of the National Ballet of Canada. Previous winners include Patty Gail Peaker, John Leberg, Elizabeth Doxtater, Terrill Maguire, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland. The award is supported by funding from the Distinguished Mature Artist Fund at the Toronto Foundation.
About Carol Anderson:
Carol Anderson (BFA, MA) is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, writer, movement educator and director. She started her professional performing career in 1970 with pioneer Judy Jarvis’ first dance-theatre company, and since the mid-1970s has danced, taught and choreographed in professional, educational and community settings across Canada. A founding member of Dancemakers, she worked with the Toronto company from 1974-89 as a dancer, choreographer and in artistic leadership roles. Carol was an Associate Professor of Dance at York University from 2002-2016, designing and teaching studio and studies courses in the graduate and undergraduate programs. A licensed Pilates MatWork and Level 1 GYROKINESIS® instructor, she now focuses her teaching practice on promoting mindful motion with senior movers. An avid writer, Carol has chronicled Canadian dance and other cultural matters in numerous books, articles, notes and online resources since the late 1980s, and to date has also written two books of poetry and a cultural history/cookbook. She continues to perform selectively, and create concert dance as well as dance/text installations for gardens, galleries and other non-traditional settings. Since 2012, she’s co-led Embodied Writing workshops with colleague Terrill Maguire, guiding participants to investigate the personal creative potential of writing practice. In 2021, Carol was a founding Creative Team member of Flight, an outdoor festival devoted to creating a dynamic presence for contemporary dance in rural Prince Edward County. She is a participant in the 2024-2025 Citadel Dance Exchange, during her residency developing a multi-intergenerational legacy/creation project.
The award was introduced in 2019 with a grant from the Distinguished Mature Artist Fund a the Toronto Foundation.
Originally called the Visionary Artist Lifetime Award, this prize has been renamed the Robert Johnston Visionary Artist Award in honour of the late Bob Johnston, one of the Canadian Artists Network’s original board members whose long career included serving as Deputy Minister of Culture for the Province of Ontario and General Manager of the National Ballet of Canada.
The award is given annually to an artist …
… whose exemplary work, produced away from the spotlight of the moment and without fanfare, has been a notable source of inspiration to others in the arts …
… and/or …
… whose visionary contributions to the arts and broader communities have been made in under-acknowledged or ‘behind the scenes’ roles.
The first winner, in 2019, was Patty Gail Peaker, chosen for her work in helping to found the Performing Arts Lodge in Toronto, along with PAL’s Supporting Cast Program.
The second winner, in 2020, was John Leberg, the former Director of Operations for the Canadian Opera Company, who led the development of surtitles in opera.
The third winner, in 2021, was Elizabeth Doxtater, a cornhusk doll maker and mentor whose work is deeply imbedded in her Mohawk culture and traditions, and a sharer of her vision and talent.
In 2022, the award was presented to Terrill Maguire, an elder dance artist, educator, and mentor who has worked with students from York University to James Bay.
The 2023 laureate was Beverly Glenn-Copeland, singer, songwriter, recording artist, and transgender advocate who has been a passionate supporter of Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ2S+ communities both in Canada and abroad.
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Photography by Gregory Edwards