Announcing the 2025 Culture Award Recipients

The City of Nanaimo celebrates local excellence at the 2025 Culture Awards

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed February 14, 2025 9:00 AM

Summary

Since 1998, the City of Nanaimo celebrates local excellence and honours achievement in arts and culture through its annual Culture Awards event. Recognizing outstanding organizations, groups or individuals in the arts and culture fields, the culture awards foster community awareness and pride, and highlight the calibre and dynamic impact of the sector on our community’s economic, social and cultural well-being.

2025 Culture Award recipients will be honoured at a free community event at The Port Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The public is invited to attend and help celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary individuals while enjoying an evening of free entertainment by Nanaimo’s very own local talent. Tickets are available through The Port Theatre.

Award recipients are named by Nanaimo City Council. The City accepts culture award nominations from the community, which are reviewed by a panel comprised of City staff, leaders in the arts and culture sector, and former culture award recipients. More information on the Culture Awards, including past recipients, can be found on the City’s website.

THE 2025 CULTURE AWARD RECIPIENTS:

EXCELLENCE IN CULTURE 2025: Joël A. Prévost

This award is presented to an organization or individual that has achieved regional and/or national recognition in the field of arts, is recognized as a “Nanaimo Artist”, has demonstrated excellence in their field and is a significant inspiration to others. Past recipients include Grant Leier & Nixie Barton (2015), Susan Juby (2016), Jacqui Kaese (2017), Rick Scott (2018), Devon Joiner (2020), Ay Lelum (2021), Brendan Tang (2022), Joel Good (2023) and Paul Roland Gogo (2024).

Joël A. Prévost is a master artist, teacher, mentor, cultural leader and creator. For over 25 years, Joël has contributed to the vibrancy of Nanaimo’s cultural community, achieving regional and national recognition and serving as a significant inspiration to others. Renowned as an accomplished sculptor, Joël is a founding member of the Vancouver Island Sculpting Studio. Joël has built a reputation as a talented sculptor and as a mentor who opens the door for others to explore and develop their own creative potential. Fueled by his deep appreciation for music and dance, Joël has also played a pivotal role in nurturing live music events, including founding the Mid-Island Jazz Festival. Joël’s passion for the arts, dedication to community, extensive expertise and unwavering commitment to fostering a collaborative, inclusive, vibrant cultural sector demonstrates his excellence, making him an ideal candidate for this award.

HONOUR IN CULTURE 2025: Doug Roszmann

This award is presented to an individual, group or corporation that is known for its dedication and support of the development of the cultural fabric of Nanaimo. Past recipients include Arlene Blundell (2015), Debbie Trueman (2016), Gerda Hofman (2017), William Good (2018), Dean Chadwick (2019), Trish & Geoff Horrocks (2020), Marianne Turley (2021), Christine Whitelaw (2021), Bruce Halliday (2022), Margot Holmes (2023) and Sukhi Sangha (2024).

Doug Roszmann’s many years of service to the arts and culture choral and theatre community have inspired countless voices both young and old. As an educator, mentor, singer and passionate advocate for the arts, Doug has been instrumental in the promotion and preservation of musical theatre and education in Nanaimo. For over 17 years, Doug worked for Nanaimo's school district as a music teacher, positively impacting countless young students and performers. In retirement, through countless hours of volunteer work, Doug continues to encourage participation in music and theatre, including serving as a volunteer singer, administrator and conductor for numerous cultural organizations. With an understanding that music can be a medium for sharing the joy of the performing arts and for personal development and growth, Doug has inspired untold numbers of people to discover their own love and passion for this art form.

HONOUR IN CULTURE 2025: Tsatassaya White

Tsatassaya White’s contributions to the Nanaimo community demonstrate outstanding support, advocacy, promotion, knowledge and interpretation of Nanaimo’s arts, culture and history. Producing plays with countless local organizations, Tsatassaya has been instrumental in providing rich cultural experiences throughout our community. As a role model for many youth in the Indigenous community, Tsatassaya has been instrumental in the development and production of young playwrights and actors from a variety of Indigenous Nations. In writing and performing plays in hul’q’umi’num, Tsatassaya has helped to broaden the scope of artistic work in Nanaimo, uplifting the voices of local Indigenous peoples. Braiding together traditional cultural knowledge and contemporary artistic practice, Tsatassaya’s influence within the cultural community has fostered connection, helping facilitate important dialogue centering reconciliation, language preservation, advocacy, and cultural learning and sharing.

HONOUR IN HERITAGE 2025: Sophia Maher

Presented to an individual, group or corporation who demonstrates outstanding support, advocacy, promotion or interpretation of Nanaimo’s heritage and history. Past recipients include Jan Peterson (2018), Nanaimo Historical Society (2019), Gary & Adam Manson (2020) and Joy Bremner (2022).

Sophia Maher is recognized for her significant impact and support within Nanaimo’s cultural community, as well as her dedication to relationship building, repatriation and reconciliation. Sophia’s passion and dedication to the promotion and interpretation of Nanaimo’s heritage and history are unquestionable. As the General Manager of the Nanaimo Museum, Sophia has fostered a cultural space that invites and supports diverse communities to share their histories and encourages opportunities for meaningful and healthy discourse of divisive topics and historical injustices for both the public and museum staff. Sophia’s dedication to uplifting and working with diverse communities, building sincere relationships and striving for excellence has had a positive impact within Nanaimo’s heritage sector and within numerous different cultural and Indigenous organizations.

Link to Strategic Plan: The 2025 Culture Awards align with the goals of the City of Nanaimo’s Strategic Plan and the Cultural Plan for a Creative Nanaimo by strengthening the creative sector by investing in organizations and people who animate our cultural spaces.

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