Abdeali Saherwala | Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Arlene Moscovitch
Ali Kazimi, an associate professor in the department of cinema and media arts has won the Governor General Award, one of the most prestigious lifetime achievement awards in Visual and Media Arts.
“These are the most prestigious prizes in Canada for career achievement in visual and media arts, rewarding accomplished artists that have left their mark and changed art history,” says Tara Lapointe, director outreach and business development at the Canada Council for the Arts.
To receive this award, an individual in the field of media and visual arts has to nominate someone based on their achievements, accolades, and projects throughout their life. Karen Tisch, an arts consultant and incoming executive director for the Koffler Centre of the Arts, nominated Kazimi for this award.
Individuals in the field of media and visual arts must have an outstanding national presence in order to attain this symbolic award.
“The Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts are given to individuals for outstanding contributions to the field and are arguably the highest honours bestowed to Canadian artists working in these disciplines,” says Tisch.
A couple of his most notable projects are Narmada: A Valley Rises, Shooting Indians: A Journey with Jeffrey Thomas, and Runaway Grooms. His work has inspired change throughout the world by informing and shifting public opinion in order to create more galvanized efforts to improve an issue through concrete political action.
In her nomination package, Tisch stated: “Kazimi’s larger project of elucidating the often-underexposed histories and experiences of racialized peoples, exploring complex intersections of colonialism, racism, and immigration through the moving image, and has significantly contributed to Canadian cinema and video art.”
Kazimi was surprised to learn he was selected for the Award for Media and Visual Arts.
“I was pretty overwhelmed, and I was shocked. I knew that I had been nominated. I had to prepare a packet of my work to be sent to the jury. But, to actually get a call that I was one of the selected was very overwhelming,” Kazimi says.
In order to win, you have to “be yourself, be bold, work hard and pursue your passion, no matter what,” says Lapointe.
