Brothers Mitch and Jeff Houle along with their sister, Julie, were honoured at the Mayor's Celebration of the Arts on May 17 at the Sudbury Theatre Centre.
The trio of musicians share a $2,500 prize for Outstanding Mid-Career Artists.
Mitch’s has a music label and radio show, Brain Tape that promotes northern artists. He also runs a recording studio.
Jeff has performed for more than 20 years, and is a promoter, music librarian, location manager, production co-ordinator and assistant film director. Julie is the creative force and front person of Sudbury punk band The Ape-ettes. She is also co-founded the textile and design shop Mimi & Lulu.
The Houles were not the only winners of the night, which is organized by Sudbury Arts Council (SAC) and The Regroupement des organismes culturels de Sudbury (ROCS).
Poet and author Roger Nash was honoured for lifetime achievement with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.
Nash was Sudbury's inaugural Poet Laureate. As president of the League of Canadian Poets, he helped create the National Poet Laureate position in Ottawa. He has won the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Poetry and the PEN/O. Henry Prize Story Award. Latitude 46 will publish Whazzat?, his latest poetry collection and 19th book this fall.
The Emerging Artist Award was presented to Shawn Kosmerly, a filmmaker and comedian. He founded Here Kitty Kitty Productions in 2012, which has produced more than two dozen music videos.
In 2016, he co-founded Hot Mess, a monthly comedy show that focuses on using stand-up comedy to help cope with mental illness and confidence issues. He has been playing in bands since he was 15 and currently plays in Dirty Princes, Lazy Daisies, Beanhead and Donut Boy, Ghost Cat and his own solo work.
Painter Charlie Rapsky was presented the Sudbury Arts Council President's Award of Distinction for his contributions to the arts. He is one the city's best known artists and his work has many collectors.
More than $10,000 in bursaries were presented to artists at the gala event which also showcases Sudbury performers and visual artists.
“This event is funded by sponsors such as Royal Bank and Eastlink,” said Vicki Gilhula, one of the founders of the awards program.
"Individual artists cannot apply for funding from the city, so these awards were created to assist them in their creative pursuits."
