Oshawa announces winners of the 2024 Culture Counts Awards

The City of Oshawa congratulates the recipients of this year's Oshawa Culture Counts Awards for their outstanding contributions to the community's creative and cultural scene.

The City of Oshawa has recently announced the winners for its annual Oshawa Culture Counts Awards. The program, which was launched in November 2017, aims to recognize and celebrate the creative and cultural contributions of the community. The awards were presented by the Oshawa City Council to the winners of three categories: Professional Artist, Emerging Artist, and Innovation and Creation Champion Awards. The ceremony took place during the Council meeting held on Monday, May 27.

The Oshawa Culture Counts Professional Artist Award has been awarded to Oshawa artist Amy Shackleton, in recognition of their outstanding creativity, originality, professional maturity and leadership in the arts community.

Emily Rocha and Kalista Wilson were selected to receive the Oshawa Culture Counts Emerging Artist Award, which recognizes emerging artists between the ages of 12 to 30 years old or have begun their artistic practice within the past five years. The award encompasses all arts disciplines recognizing those that are skilled and determined to advance their artistic capabilities and leverage these skills to inspire and enrich the lives of fellow citizens.

The third award goes to Oshawa Tourism for the Innovation and Creation Champion Award. This award is presented to individuals, collectives or organizations in the creative and cultural industries who have made significant contributions to creating or improving an event, product, program or partnership in the past year.

To learn more about the Oshawa Culture Counts Awards visit Oshawa.ca/CultureCountsAwards.

For more information on Culture Counts, visit Oshawa.ca/CultureCounts. For City of Oshawa updates, visit Oshawa.ca/NewsCentre to follow us on social media, subscribe to news and alerts, and have your say on Connect Oshawa.

Artist Biographies:

Professional Artist: Amy Shackleton

Amy Shackleton is an Oshawa-based artist who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in 2008. Her artworks have been exhibited across North America and are held in public collections including the Town of Cobourg, Museum of Dufferin, Colart Collection and Facebook Canada.

Within Oshawa, her work has been shown in partnership with The Robert McLaughlin Gallery at the Oshawa Centre in 2020 and at South Oshawa Community Centre in 2023-2024. Both murals included an augmented reality component created with Julian Brown.

As a skilled urban landscape painter, Amy’s paintings portray hypothetical futures that show the harsh reality of climate change, yet strive to offer a glimpse of hope by imagining a future where humanity and nature co-exist. Amy’s inventive technique, described as “drip painting with a twist”, has earned her a huge social media following. She applies paint with squeeze bottles and works with gravity to manipulate the falling drips by rotating her canvas.

Emerging Artist Award: Emily Rocha

Emily Rocha is a soprano who has past and upcoming performances in Germany, Portugal, Austria, France, Switzerland, England, Romania and North America, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Emily will join the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio for the 2024-2025 season. This summer she will be a Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

In 2021, Emily earned her Honours Bachelors of Music of the University of Toronto Voice Performance program and in 2023 she earned her Masters of Music degree of the University of Toronto’s Opera School.

She has offered dazzling performances in “M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le…”, “Disobedience”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, “Die Zauberflöte”, “Le Nozze di Figaro”, “Don Giovanni” and “The Tender Land”. In a workshop for the new opera “Melancholia” (Karlsson, Vavrek), premiered in the fall of 2023 at the Kungliga Operan, she sang excerpts as Justine.

Emily was a District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (Tulsa District), and 2^nd Prize Winner at COC Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition 2023 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. She has also won an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition 2023 (Illinois District), Winner of the 2023 UTSO Concerto Competition with Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, 1st Prize in the Toronto Mozart Competition and U of T’s prestigious Ivan Alexandor Chorney Opera Scholarship (2022).

Emerging Artist Award: Kalista Wilson

Kalista Wilson, at just 19 years old, is an accomplished individual known for her incredible talents and achievements. She is a singer, actress, model and a full-time university student.

In 2020, she was recognized as a Juno Nominee as a member of Girl Pow-R. Her involvement as the national anthem singer for the Toronto Raptors over the last four years, as well as The Toronto Marlies and TFC, has made her a familiar face at major sporting events. She also proudly served as the anthem singer for her hometown team, the Oshawa Generals, and as the anthem singer for the City of Oshawa’s Canada Day celebrations.

Moreover, Kalista's compassionate nature is reflected in her regular donations of time and her incredible voice to local charities and causes, including The Concert to Feed the Need Durham (2019- 2023), highlighting her commitment to making a positive impact in her community.

Kalista’s acting career has included lead roles and guest appearances in TV shows and movies on prominent networks such as CTV, Family Channel and the Oprah Winfrey Network. Her upcoming projects include “Near or Far” on CBC Gem in the spring of 2024.

Innovation and Creation Champion Award: Oshawa Tourism

Oshawa Tourism introduced the blockbuster event Convergence in 2023, which transformed downtown Oshawa into a vibrant hub of entertainment and celebration. 

This event was created in collaboration with local artists and businesses. This free, family extravaganza unfolded across two dynamic stages—one dedicated to emerging artists, showcasing the incredible talent here in Oshawa, and another featuring established bands, headlined by The Strumbellas. Along with the musical performances, there was something for everyone—a wrestling ring, vendor markets, food trucks and art exhibitions. 

The goal of Convergence was to bring together 5,000 people for a day of shared joy and camaraderie. All expectations were exceeded, and more than 15,000 attendees were drawn in. The event supported local restaurants and businesses with an influx of visitors to Oshawa’s downtown.

Quotes:

"In Oshawa's vibrant cultural landscape, your talents and dedication shine brightly. Congratulations to this year's Culture Counts Award winners, your commitment to nurturing our artistic soul is truly commendable," said Mayor Dan Carter.

“We proudly recognize the importance of Oshawa's culture, and we commend those who dedicate their hard work to bringing our city's spirit to life. Through their creativity and community initiatives, they enhance Oshawa for all of us,” said Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri, Chair of the Economic and Development Services Committee. “Congratulations to the recipients of the Culture Counts Award. Your successes motivate us to embrace and celebrate creativity, diversity, and boundless potential.”

"Congratulations to the Culture Counts Award winners! Your passion enriches our community and inspires future generations, said Councillor Bob Chapman, Vice-Chair of the Economic and Development Services Committee. “We extend our thanks to all who nominated, highlighting achievements and fostering a spirit of celebration."