The Guyana Cultural Association (GCA) of New York, Inc, has announced its 2022 Awardees and Prize Winners, including David Lanyi, whom it named a lifetime achievement award winner.
In addition, the other winners are Dr Gillian Richards-Greaves, RDE PROS (Rawle Da Silva, business partner/cultural enabler), Carlyle Fraser, Ganesh Singh, Cheryl Noel, Dr. Desiree DeFlorimonte, Winston La Rose, Terry Watson, Diana Daniela Luke-King and Mark Junior Murray.
A posthumous award has also been conferred on Wayne Nunes.
The awarding of the Derry Etkins Memorial Prizes, for service and commitment to music education in Guyana and excellence in music composition, performance and preservation, was deferred until next year.
In addition, the Godfrey Chin Prize for Heritage Journalism first prize of US$500 has been awarded to the Silent Walls Project by Nix Butler and Nelsonia Budhram-Persaud. “The murals contribute to the beautification of Georgetown city through public art—painting existing blank (silent) walls…,” the citation for the award reads.
The second prize of US$300 was awarded to Professor John G Morris for his book “ICHABOD: Poetry of People, Places, Politics and Philosophy.” The third prize was awarded to Richards-Greaves for her book, “REDIASPORIZATION: African Guyanese Kweh-Kweh.”
In a release on the awardees, the GCA said their work demonstrates “cultural confidence and innovation, especially the creative application of the digital communication technologies and online platforms to study, discuss and showcase Guyana’s rich multi-ethnic heritage and contemporary creativity.”
According to the organization, the GCA Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose creativity and leadership reflect Guyana’s cultural heritage and demonstrate significant achievements in accomplishing the objectives of its theme.
The GCA reminded in the release on the awardees that the winners are the outcome of a process that starts with nominations from the public. The nominations are then evaluated by panels of distinguished judges, with all nominations evaluated against seven criteria: Originality, Scope, Impact /Influence, Integration, Pioneering spirit, Challenges and Achievements.
It thanked those members of the public who submitted nominations and said it looks forward to welcoming them to the virtual awards ceremony, scheduled for August 31, 2022. It noted that the Awards Ceremony is one of the signature events of the annual Guyana Folk Festival season—now in its 22nd year.
The theme for Guyana Folk Festival 2022 is Carifesta@50: Reflections and Legacies.
The virtual awards ceremony would be streamed at 18:00 hrs on the GCA Facebook page and the Guyana Golk Festival YouTube Channel.
