Arts Culture and Heritage Award Program
Community Legend Award
Each year, a Community Legend Award recipient is selected and recognized by Oshawa City Council. In addition, a temporary display will be available at the Delpark Homes Centre, along with a permanent plaque.
Eligibility
The Community Legend Award recognizes a person of any age or an organization/group who:
- made a significant contribution to an activity, sport or community initiative as a volunteer
- contributed to improving the quality of life of the Oshawa community
- made a significant impact on the Oshawa community at a grassroots level through arts and culture, sports or community initiatives
Nomination Form
Nominations will open in January 2026.
Review Process
Nominations for the Community Legend Award are reviewed and selected by the Community and Operations Services Committee for recommendation to Council for final approval.
2025 Recipient |
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Lisa Weiss
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Previous Recipients |
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Culture Counts Awards
The Oshawa Culture Counts Awards celebrate and honour the creative and cultural achievements of the community in three categories:
- Oshawa Culture Counts Professional Artist
- Oshawa Culture Counts Emerging Artist
- Innovation and Creation Champion Award
Selected recipients are acknowledged at a City Council meeting in the spring.
Work Sample Submission Criteria
- Visual, Fine Craft, Multimedia: Include up to five images. All images must be in JPEG format, no larger than 2 MB each. Please include an image list containing the title, dimensions, and date of the artwork.
- Music – performances, technical, or production (all genres): Include up to two songs as a web link to YouTube videos, Soundcloud files, etc.; if an album is submitted, please note two songs you would like the Jury to listen to and for all include appropriate production credits, such as the publisher and performance dates.
- Theatre, Performance, Dance: Include five minutes of a recent work via web link. Please cue media to the starting time, and include appropriate production credits such as the director, writer, and performance dates.
- Writing: Include up to two samples of current work (Word/PDF), no more than ten pages. Please include appropriate production credits, such as the date, publisher, and editor. Please note any passages you would like the Jury to read.
- For an organization or collective, please provide work samples that support the nomination. This could be a web link to the website with notes on the areas you would like the Jury to focus on or PDF/Word files of brochures or other marketing materials explaining the organization's impact.
Eligibility
- Applicants and nominees must be current or former residents of the City of Oshawa, work in the City of Oshawa, or collaborate with an Oshawa-based organization
- An applicant or nominee may be the recipient of only one award per year
- City of Oshawa staff are not eligible for an award, but may nominate individuals
- An individual cannot be nominated posthumously
Nomination Forms
Nominations will open in January 2026.
Review Process
A sub-committee of the Cultural Leadership Council (C.L.C.) will review and evaluate the nominations received and make a recommendation for each award to the Economic Development Services Committee (E.D.S.C.). The E.D.S.C. will review the recommendations by the C.L.C. and make a recommendation to City Council for approval of the award winners.
For each category noted above, City staff will develop an evaluation matrix and guideline for assessing the recipient of the awards.
Applicants will be required to demonstrate their artistic merit, critical acknowledgement of the work/initiative, evidence of recognition by the local community, and describe their career path/ organizational background and association to the arts discipline/initiative.
Oshawa Culture Counts Award Professional Artist
This award recognizes an established artist of any arts discipline (including performing, visual, cinematic, design, architecture and literary arts) who has demonstrated creativity, originality, professional maturity and artistic leadership in the community.
The following criteria will be used to select the award recipient:
- Artistic merit/interest
- Critical acknowledgments of the artist's work (e.g. exhibition/performance opportunities, publications, reviews, articles, etc.)
- Recognition by local arts community
2025 Recipient |
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Keisha "Keysha Freshh" Fanfair Keisha “Keysha Freshh” Fanfair is a Juno Award Nominated Canadian rapper and one of the leading voices in Canada’s hip-hop scene. Keisha has been performing for 27 years and recording music professionally since the age of 14. Keisha is known for her sharp lyricism and bold storytelling; she blends her Caribbean roots with her urban upbringing. She has earned widespread recognition for her authenticity, tackling topics of empowerment, identity and resilience in her music. Keisha is a Durham District Catholic School Board alumni and has been committed for over a decade to creating music programs for youth. She often returns to Durham to facilitate cultural events and speeches. She recently released a song, “905”, a proud ode to the Durham region. As an advocate for women in hip-hop, Keisha continues to break barriers, earning critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. She has been a music educator, teaching hip hop and songwriting at the Royal Conservatory of Music, at local schools and at Trinity College in Connecticut. Keisha is currently the Chair of the Advisory Committees for Independent Music Production and Independent Songwriting production at Seneca College, making her the youngest person to sit in this position. |
Previous Recipients |
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Oshawa Culture Counts Award Emerging Artist
This award recognizes an artist in the early stages of their career in any arts discipline (including performing, visual, cinematic, design, architecture and literary arts) who is skilled and determined to advance their artistic capabilities. This individual understands the value of their gift within the community, and leverages these skills to inspire and enrich the lives of fellow citizens.
The individual must be between 12 to 30 years or have begun their artistic practice within the past five years.
The following criteria will be used to select the award recipient:
- Artistic merit/interest
- Evidence of commitment to artistic practice
- Career path in an artistic discipline
- Critical acknowledgments of the artist's work (i.e., exhibition/performance opportunities, publications, reviews, articles, etc.)
- Recognition by the local arts community
2025 Recipient |
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Danielle Alexander Danielle Alexander is a graduating visual arts student, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at York University this June. She is president of her university’s Visual Arts Student Association as well as employed part-time as a print media studio assistant. This year at York, she was granted ten awards for her art, community service and academic achievement. In high school, Danielle was awarded for her special dedication to the visual arts and the natural environment. She was a Canadian Art Inspiration Contest finalist with the Art Institute of Canada in 2021, and she won the Joseph Drapell Award for Artistic and Academic Excellence, York University in 2023. Some of Danielle’s artwork has been on display in Oshawa and throughout Ontario, including a reproduction wrap of a rural scene on electric boxes in Ajax and Sunderland (2024), a banner depicting a ship in the harbour displayed at Lakeview Park (2020), a reproduction of an original painting at Convergence Music and Art Festival (2024), a linoprint at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (2024 and 2025), a mural at Mary Street Community School (2019), a screen print on display at the Legislative Building (2024 and 2025), a digital piece in a virtual gallery at the Art Gallery of Ontario (2021) and she participated in a RCSU Central Art Challenge at the Canadian Forces Base Borden (2020). Danielle is currently a freelance digital artist for the Kids Hall of Fame in New York, drawing historical extraordinary youth achievers. She continues to exhibit her art in Oshawa and galleries in Toronto. Her hopes are to become an illustrator once she graduates. She enjoys selling her paintings, apparel, handmade stickers and writing original character comics. |
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Innovation and Creation Champion
This award honours an individual, collective and/or organization in the creative and cultural industries who has created or enhanced an event, product, program or partnership in the past year. In addition, the award recognizes work that is unique, transformative, and positive in its impact on arts, culture, and heritage in Oshawa.
The following criteria will be used to select the award recipient:
- The level of creativity and innovation of the event, product, program or partnership
- The community impact of the event, product, program or partnership
- Notable achievements relevant to event, product, program or partnership
2025 Recipient |
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Oshawa Museum In November 2024, the Oshawa Museum launched its centennial project, “Untold Oshawa: An Expanded History”. This project represents over six years of dedicated research, writing and design. “Untold Oshawa” examines stories that have not been included in previous books on Oshawa’s history. The aim is to expand the commonly accepted narrative of Oshawa’s history, to develop a local history that broadens the perspective and to examine various aspects of the community’s past. Within “Untold Oshawa” there are stories of some of Oshawa’s early settlers from marginalized communities, a look into the impact of labour unions in Oshawa on the experiences of children who emigrated without family and early efforts to breakdown gender barriers. “Untold Oshawa” also documents important moments for the Chinese community in Oshawa, the environmental impact of local industry and more. The book and topics explored within were the basis for an on-site exhibit at the Oshawa Museum. This exhibit also addresses the gaps in the museum’s collection, to ensure the collection is representative of the city where we live, work, learn and play. Visitors are encouraged to consider if their own story is currently reflected in the museum’s collection. “Untold Oshawa” has sold over 250 copies, with copies distributed to every school in the Durham District School Board, to Ontario Tech University and the Oshawa Public Libraries. |
Previous Recipients |
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