It’s sixty years since the provincial government’s Arts and Letters first began recognizing the province’s writers, visual artists, and musicians in this annual competition. For many of the province’s artists, this is the competition to win.
Along with significant monetrary prizes, there comes a sense of accomplishment for the artist and the opportunity to exibit through readings, muscial performances, the live exhibition, or online through the Arts and Letters website. But one of the main reasons the Arts and Letters is regarded so highly is because the adjudication process is entirely blind.
In the adult section, new and emerging artists compete on the same level with well-known professionals. For jurors, the work alone has to do the speaking. When the professional artist is placed among the winners, it’s sweet vindication. When the emerging artist wins, it’s an exhilarating confirmation that s/he really has created something that stands out.
For past winners in both the adult and the junior sections, the Arts and Letters has opened important doors into a world of encouragement and validation. Many will attest to that extra buzz, the spring it puts into an artist’s leap into the next creative adventure.
That the competition has steaily expanded in terms of entrants and numbers of prizes is a testament to the growing number of practitioners in the arts in Newfoundland and Labrador. And this increase has come about because of encouragement and available opportunities. Of such opportunities, nothing can be more important than the Arts and Letters.
I am honoured to serve as the new chair of this committee and would like to wholeheartedly thank outgoing chair, Elayne Greeley, for all her hard work. In taking this role, I am mindful of the enormous amount of steady commitment by the chairs and committees of the past, as well as government staff and officials. These collective efforts have ensured the competition continues to grow and to remain contemporary and relevant to all or our province’s artists. A proud legacy indeed!
Paul Butler
September 2011