Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts‘ winners announced

Artists and arts administrators weren’t the only ones who filled the RBC Convention Centre today for the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts, hosted by the Winnipeg Arts Council (WAC).

Among the sea of chunky beaded necklaces, horn-rimmed glasses and other artsy attire were crisp suits worn by Winnipeg’s leading business and political figures, not least of all the event’s namesake, Mayor Scott Gillingham.

As it often does, the event opened with a dance — this time by Métis dancing trio Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers — and like last year Mayor Gillingham was coaxed to participate in the onstage spectacle. He hopped on one foot during the trio’s jig demonstration, before imploring the audience to rise to their feet and share in the moment.

Speeches were made by Gillingham and others, poems read over the clattering of cutlery, but the event’s highlight was the presentation of the 2026 WAC Awards.

Winner of the RBC on the Rise award, recognizing emerging artists, is painter Laura Lewis. Her monumental paintings — pastel-like, impressionistic, precise — of women and gender diverse subjects earned her a nomination by Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art and ultimately the highest mark in this category from WAC’s jurors.

Making A Mark award, recognizing mid-career artists, went to Grace Nickel. A ceramicist with a conceptual streak, Nickel — nominated by the Manitoba Craft Council — is considered a pillar of the local craft community while her work has exhibited in high places all
over Canada and Asia.

Gaile Petursson-Hiley, nominated by the School of Contemporary Dancers, took home the Making a Difference award, celebrating veteran artists. As a principal dancer with Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers, as founding director of Mouvement/Winnipeg Dance Projects and beyond — Petursson-Hiley has helped shape Winnipeg’s dance scene over five decades.