INVITATION TO MEDIA and INTERESTED ALBERTANS

June 11, 2019

On June 17, 2019 Her Honour, the Hon. Lois E. Mitchell CM, AOE, LLD, Lieutenant

Governor of Alberta will announce three winners of the 2019 Distinguished Artist Award

and welcome the Battle River Group, hosts of the September 21, 2019 Distinguished

Artist awards ceremony in Maskwacis, Alberta.

This year marks the first time in the 15-year history of the Lieutenant Governor of

Alberta Arts Awards to be celebrated in First Nation territory.

When: 1:30 PM, Monday June 17

Where: Government House, 12845 -102 Avenue, Edmonton

Opening Prayer - Elder Roy Louis

Her Honour Lois E Mitchell CM, AOE, LLD, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

Battle River Group – Chief Vernon Saddleback, Samson Cree Nation; Elder Roy Louis

and Dr. Jane Ross, event co-chairs

Maskwacis Dancers with accompaniment

2019 Distinguished Artists announced

Event will be held outdoors, weather permitting.

The Battle River Group is comprised of Indigenous, settler and immigrant

representatives from all along the Battle River. The Distinguished Artist Awards

ceremonies in Maskwacis on September 21 will culminate a month of activities

throughout the Battle River Region to celebrate the deep connections of the land, its

people and the arts.

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For information please contact:

Kathy Classen, Executive Director

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards

780-222-7943 kathy.classen@artsawards.ca

About the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards

Founded in 2003, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards are

among the most prestigious and valuable such awards in Canada, consisting of a

$30,000 cash prize and a two-week residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

for each of three new awardees.