Buffys 2021

Buffys 2021

Buffys 2021 was Arts Council’s second cinematic awards showcase, which was broadcast for free on October 16, 2021, on Facebook and YouTube. The event theme, Midnight in Technicolor, was an homage to movie history and featured a colourful storyline written by Steve Reeve of M’Guphynn Media, five performances by local artists, a celebration of 100 nominees, and presentations of 14 locally handcrafted awards. View the Event Program.

2021 Theme: Midnight in Technicolor

The Buffys 2021 theme is based on the traditional Technicolor movement in film, primarily around the 1950's. Technicolor films are known for their bright, bold and saturated colours. Technicolor is a series of processes used to first produce colour in motion pictures. The famously recognized three-strip Technicolor changed the film scene. Each of the three negatives were responsible for either red, blue or green. Today, Technicolor is more known for the end result of the colouring than the process itself.

Classic examples of Technicolor movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood are The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone With the Wind (1939), Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), and Blue Lagoon (1949).

2021 Award Recipients

• Arts Administration - Diane Schuldt-Zundel
• Arts Champion - Andrew Pottie
• Arts Education - Cathy Larson
• Craft - Simon Budd
• Creative Collaboration - Land Acknowledgement Video by Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games
• Dance - Hanna LeVoir
• Indigenous Arts - Amy Keller-Rempp
• Lifetime Achievement - Joey Delusong (Joey D)
• Literary Arts - NorthWord Magazine
• Media Arts - Matthew Lorenz
• Music (Ken Flaherty Music Award) - Shantelle Davidson
• Performing Arts - Theatre; Just Because
• Rising Star - Diya Hiltz
• Visual Arts - Rob Hickey

2021 Performers

This year’s showcase featured five performances by local talent from across Wood Buffalo, including an Indigenous performance filmed in Fort Chipewyan - a first in Buffy history. Performances also included the follow up to an Indian saga from Buffys 2020, local musical and comedy favourites, and dance, dance, dance. Midnight in Technicolor, with illustrations by Cat Hare and set design by Raili Boe, was woven together by local video artists, M’Guphynn Media, Richard Baldonado, Neville Video Productions, Berteig Imaging, Matt Lorenz, and Twisted Gears Studios. Watch the awards showcase on YouTube.

2021 Buffy Awards

This year's Buffy Awards were created by the local pottery wizard, Michelle Ploughman, also known as Saltwater Potter. Ploughman created 14 vases that were individualized for each award category, and were inspired by the boreal forest. The awards embody poplar trees and showcase the flora and fauna of the region with intricately painted details and a beautiful glazed finish.

2021 Nominees – Arts Administration

• Diane Schuldt-Zundel ☆
• Kayla Erlandson *
• Norma Jean-Atkinson *
• Scott Weber

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Arts Champion

This year, Arts Council Wood Buffalo has chosen someone who is a linchpin for the local music community, and can often be found behind the scenes of community events, festivals, and performances. Originally from Nova Scotia, he came to Fort McMurray in 2013, after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and brought with him his passion for connecting the community through live events and music.  After working at his full-time job, he can be found making music with his family and local musicians, recording and engineering music, or supporting others so they can realize their artistic vision. Not only is he an active contributor to the local music scene with his band “The Borderpines,” he has also raised the standards of event production to new heights across the region.

The Board of Directors of Arts Council are pleased to present the 2021 Arts Champion Award to Andrew Pottie.

2021 Nominees – Arts Education

• Ana Acacia Oliveira
• Cathy Larson ☆
• Denise White
• Emily Hansen
• Janey Scott
• Jennifer Dahl *
• Kayla Erlandson
• Krista Oviatt
• Kristana Naowakhun
• Matthew Marcel
• Nicole Davis *
• Shannon Whitbread
• Sonia Burke-Smith

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Craft

• Amanda Dawson
• Gwendy Harrington
• Jennifer Shortman
• Matthew Marcel *
• Michelle Ploughman (Saltwater Potter) *
• Shelby Marshall
• Simon Budd ☆

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Creative Collaboration

• "Faces of Racism" by Berteig Imaging *
• “Breathe & Explore” by Exhale Yoga & Barre & Theatre; Just Because
• "Fort McMurray Matters" by Mix 103.7
• Handcrafted Wood Buffalo
• Land Acknowledgement Video by Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games ☆
• "Multicultural EXPO 2021" by Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo *
• "St. Paddy's Day Songs Around the Zoomfire" by Waypoints
• "Stay Home, Read Gala" by Wood Buffalo Regional Library

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Dance

• Christel Pyz *
• Hanna LeVoir ☆
• Kayla Ladouceur *
• Rachele Playford
• The Tarasencos
• YMM Dance Company

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Indigenous Arts

• Amy Keller-Rempp ☆
• Bertha Cyprien *
• Beverley Tourangeau
• Dene Plews
• Jennifer Shortman
• Jerome Cardinal *
• Jessica Powder
• Kayla Ladouceur
• Kimberley Brice
• Matthew Marcel
• Tammie Tuccaro
• Tasheena Campbell

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Lifetime Achievement

This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient has had a lasting impact on the music community through his passion, drive, and positivity. He got his start by playing the trombone in school jazz bands, but soon discovered his love of the guitar and punk music. After high school, he studied visual arts at Keyano College for a year, before moving to Vancouver to study sound engineering.

He soon came back to Fort McMurray and began playing with local bands like Abandin All Hope and Fresh Cut Lime, becoming a regular fixture around the community playing guitar and singing original and classic songs.  Eventually he moved to Edmonton, where he worked on a number of solo projects and recorded his first EP. Friends say he inspired the “next crop” of local musicians to pick up a guitar and put on shows, but he often attributed his success to his bandmates and collaborators.

Many hearts were broken when he passed away suddenly in 2015, but his legacy continues to thrive. Songs he’d written with his various bands are often still performed at campfires, open mics, and concerts throughout Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Vancouver. And every year around his birthday, his friends organize a celebration at the Tavern On Main, where people come from all across Canada to pay and play their tributes.

The Board of Directors of Arts Council Wood Buffalo are pleased to present the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award to Joey Delusong – also widely known as Joey D.

2021 Nominees – Literary Arts

• Dene Plews *
• Hilary Morgan
• Jamal-E-Fatima
• J.S. Marlo
• Julie Rowe
• NorthWord Magazine ☆
• Patricia Marie Budd *

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Media Arts

• Devki Patel
• Greenlight Creative
• Jon Qpid
• "Lace & Confetti Design Studio" by Clarianne Andrighetti
• Matthew Lorenz ☆
• M'Guphynn Media *
• Neville Video Productions *
• Tasheena Campbell
• Trevor Butler

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Music (Ken Flaherty Music Award)

• Caius Hubris *
• Dan Tulk
• Éva *
• Mat Cote
• Shantelle Davidson ☆

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Performing Arts

• Jason Beck
• Jenny Price *
• Shantelle Davidson
• Steve Reeve
• Theatre; Just Because ☆
• Zenon Campbell *

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Rising Star

• Abi McCrone Lehoczki
• Ciara Driscoll
• Carmen Hall
• Diya Hiltz ☆
• Heidi Reid
• Jerome Cardinal *
• Nishka Rai
• Rosa Pontello *

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient

2021 Nominees – Visual Arts

• Ambreen Ehtisham *
• April Warren
• Bryce Horbachewski
• Caylee Close
• Greg Halinda
• Jessie Levesque
• Jessica Powder
• Kayla Lavers
• Kim Blatchford (B's Art)
• Kritsana Naowakhun *
• Melissa Richard
• Rob Hickey ☆

* = Shortlist
☆ = Award recipient