Vtape’s New Governor General’s Award Winners for Visual & Media Arts:
Vtape artists Zacharias Kunuk and Skawennati join 38 other artists with works in distribution at Vtape who have received the award for Visual and Media Arts since its inception in 1999.
Previous Vtape-affiliated artists and arts professionals who are GG winners include: Clive Robertson, Kent Monkman, Bruce LaBruce (2025); Marjorie Beaucage, Michelle Jacques (2024); FastWÜRMS (2023); Bonnie Devine, Cheryl L’Hirondelle (2021); Deanna Bowen, Dana Claxton, Ruth Cuthand, Jorge Lozano, Zainub Verjee (2020); Stephen Andrews, Marlene Creates, Ali Kazimi, Andrew James Paterson (2019); Midi Onodera (2018); Mike Hoolboom, Shelagh Keeley, Shelley Niro (2017); Jayce Salloum (2014); Gordon Monahan (2013); Margaret Dragu, Jan Peacock (2012); Barbara Sternberg (2011); Tom Sherman (2010); Nobuo Kubota (2009); Tanya Mars, Eric Metcalfe (2008); Vera Frenkel (2006); Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak, Paul Wong (2005); Eric Cameron, Istvan Kantor, John Oswald (2004); and Tom Dean and Jamelie Hassan (2001).
Highlight from nomination statement, nominator: Jason Ryle, film curator, programmer, producer
“Kunuk’s breakthrough film, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), was nothing less than a paradigm shift not just for Indigenous cinema but for the Canadian film industry as a whole. Rooted in Inuit oral tradition and filmed entirely in Inuktitut, it grabbed the world’s attention and anchored Inuit storytelling in the canon of Canadian cinema, changing what we see on screen forever.”
“He has not only made extraordinary work but transformed the very conditions under which Indigenous screen arts in Canada are made, understood and appreciated. He has given voice to Inuit storytelling on the global stage, reshaped perceptions, built an industry, mentored generations and anchored his practice in community.”
Highlight from nomination statement, nominator: Christine Redfern, ELLEPHANT Contemporary Art Gallery
“Skawennati was an early adopter of cyberspace as an artistic medium, bringing to it the distinct perspective of an urban Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman. Through her celebrated machinimas—films created in virtual environments—she constructs her works within Second Life, using this platform as a dynamic space to tell stories that revitalize Kanien’kehá:ka language, oral history and material culture.”
“At her core, Skawennati is a storyteller. Her machinimas advance a powerful vision of Truth and Reconciliation, aligning art with the nation’s broader social and cultural commitments. Through her virtual worlds, she offers both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences the opportunity to revisit history, reimagine the present and envision a shared future based on respect, creativity and collaboration. Her work demonstrates that art can be a site of healing, education and imagination.”