The Metcalf Foundation has announced the 15 finalists for the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes/Les Prix Johanna-Metcalf des Arts de la scène (Johannas). The five winners and their protégés will be announced on May 19, 2022 at a ceremony at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Each winner will receive a prize of $25,000 and will name a protégé as a way of celebrating early career artists who are showing formidable promise. Protégés will be awarded $10,000 each, a $5,000 increase from the inaugural prize year, bringing the total value of the prizes to $175,000.
The 15 finalists for the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes/Les Prix Johanna-Metcalf des Arts de la scène are:
Nina Lee Aquino, theatre director
Natasha Bakht, choreographer and contemporary dancer
Ian Cusson, composer
John Kameel Farah, composer and pianist
Yaovi Hoyi (YAO), musician and entrepreneur
iskwē, musician
Ravi Jain, theatre director
Rosina Kazi, musician
Sandra Laronde, multidisciplinary artist
Marie-Thé Morin, theatre creator
Marilo Nuñez, theatre director and playwright
Kevin A. Ormsby, choreographer
Juliet Palmer, composer
Peter “Alo” White, spiritual guide and musician
Norman Yeung, playwright
Congratulations to all the finalists!