Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre has announced a new awards program that aims to help up-and-coming artists and graduating Artists-in-Residence succeed as entrepreneurs. Each year, the Craft & Design Business Advisory Committee of the Harbourfront Centre will assess applicants based on their plan of business, after which two recipients will be awarded with the Dalglish Family Foundation Venture Award and given $15,000 each toward their idea or company.
For the inaugural edition of the awards, the committee selected two artists, Heather Rathbun and Stephanie Fortin. Heather of Heather Rathbun Jewellery Design and Stephanie of Coeur de Lion, are both graduating artists from the Craft & Design Studio Artists-in-Residence program.
Heather, a jewellery designer, has an aesthetic of refining contemporary jewellery by integrating elements that are inspired by mathematics and mechanics. Her work can be found on www.heatherrathbun.com.
Stephanie specializes in handmade fashion and domestic textiles that she creates using a folding and clamping technique. Visit her website www.coeurdeliontextiles.com for more information.
To learn more about the Artists-in-Resdidence program, visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/craft/about/.
Left to right: Melanie Egan, Head of Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre; Camilla Dalglish; Heather Rathbun, Jewellery Designer; Textile artist-entrepreneur Stephanie Fortin (left).
CJ
