15 Edmonton artists win $15K each for contributions to community

One of the artist trust fund award winners, Christine Lesiak, is the director in charge of mentorship for the Play the Fool Festival in Edmonton, seen here on on Sept. 26, 2019.

The Edmonton Arts Council announced 15 recipients of the 2025 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (EATF) awards on Monday.

Each local artist won $15,000 for their contributions to a “vibrant arts scene enjoyed by audiences across our city,” said the non-profit’s CEO, Renée Williams, in a press release.

The money, $225,000 in total this year, comes from a collaboration with the Edmonton Community Foundation and the City of Edmonton.

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The EATF was created by the Edmonton Community Foundation in 1997 and currently holds $2.1 million. To date, the fund has distributed $1.3 million to local artists.

The press release also noted the awards are meant to provide financial stability for artists to “renew, develop, create or experiment” in their craft.

The winners’ contributions included theatre work, music production, directing, comedy, poetry, songwriting, dance, set design and more.

The recipients are as follows:

• Amson (TheApex)
• Andrew MacDonald-Smith
• Andrew Ritchie
• Anna Marie Sewell
• Christine Lesiak
• David Jay the Spaniard
• Gavin Bradley
• Jacquie Daniels
• Kendra Connor
• Kim McCollum
• Mark Segger
• Rhea March
• Seeka Sings
• Stephanie Lilley
• Whittyn Jason