Canada's most prestigious awards just announced this year's laureates.
The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) are the country's highest honour in the performing arts. The awards recognize artists and art volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to culture in Canada and around the world.
This year, the GGPAA Gala takes place at the National Arts Centre on May 27.
Though they aren't listed among the laureates, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively will partake in this year's awards as the Honorary Chairs of the 2023 GGPAA Gala National Committee. The committee is volunteer-operated and raises funds for the GGPAA Gala.
Laureates for the GGPAA Lifetime Artistic Achievement award includes playwright, screenwriter, librettist, and teacher Michel Marc Bouchard, singer-songwriter and humanitarian Molly Johnson, choreographer James Kudelka, soprano and voice teacher Rosemarie Landry, and singer-songwriter and activist k.d. lang.
The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts will be presented to John Kim Bell, one of Canada's most decorated Indigenous leaders who is widely recognized for his work as an activist, entrepreneur, and fundraiser.
The National Arts Centre Award, which recognizes work of an extraordinary nature by an artist or company, will be bestowed on actor, writer, and comedian Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
Reynolds was the National Arts Centre Award laureate in 2021. He also received an award for his philanthropy from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television in January 2023.
