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City announces arts awards winners, new poet laureate

Tyneisha Ternent named poet laureate at Nov. 22 event
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Tyneisha Ternent is the City of Barrie’s poet laureate.

NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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The Barrie Arts Awards were held on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the MacLaren Art Centre.

These awards are an opportunity to show appreciation for talented individuals and generous supporters of the arts.

Nominations were accepted in the below categories and were reviewed by a third-party panel of adjudicators who selected the following winners.

  • Most Promising Youth — Clayton Nixon
  • Emerging Artist — Monica Loney
  • Artist Beyond Barriers — David Whyne
  • Business Champion — Diane Frederick
  • Resilience in the Arts — Multi Tech Audio Visual (MTAV)
  • Excellence in the Arts — Joshua Doerksen
  • Contribution to the Community — Katie Green

Also at the event, Tyneisha Ternent was announced as Barrie’s new poet laureate for the 2022-2026 term. Ternent’s debut poetry collection, Bearing Fruit, was released in 2020, and she intends to honour the position of Barrie’s poet laureate by creating more works of poetry and making them available to the public.

“The arts are essential to placemaking. They tell Barrie’s unique story and contribute to its identity,” commented Stephannie Schlichter, director of the economic and creative development department at the City of Barrie. “A strong sense of place elevates our community and encourages others to experience it. Congratulations to this year’s Barrie Arts Award winners and to Tyneisha Ternent as our new poet laureate.”

Learn more about each Barrie Arts Awards winner at barrie.ca/ArtsAwards and get to know Barrie’s new poet laureate at barrie.ca/PoetLaureate.

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