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Cobequid Art Council recognizes four individuals with Lifetime Achievement Awards
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TRURO, N.S. — The theme of the evening may have been, while the recipients were receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards, all four are still significantly adding to their artistic legacies with impressive contributions to this day, with no end in sight.
The Cobequid Arts Council recognized builder/supporter Garfield Moffat, musician/teacher Jeff Goodspeed, visual artist Leonard Paul, and actor/singer Lenore Zann, during a ceremony late last month at the Marigold Cultural Centre.
Zann, who is back doing one of the roles she is best known for, being the voice of power-stealing superhero Rogue for the animated X-Men ’97 series, was introduced to the audience by fellow Truro entertainer Jeff Douglas. Both are in the upcoming movie The Madones which is set to be released.
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Douglas talked about Zann’s long IMDb page, a site that lists all the TV and movie credits for an actor.
“Lenore has 120 credits as an actor,” he said, garnering applause from the audience. “You get there by talent, the first few gigs by talent, but you keep working based on your personality. You have to be a good person, someone who works well in the community, and to have it affirmed and reaffirmed project after project – to be asked back on things over and over again – that says more than just, ‘hey, you’re a great actor’ … it says, you’re a great person.”
Zann, who is also well known for her time as an MLA and MP representing her home area of Colchester, talked about her constant goal to always strive for her best.
“I’ve always kept that as my goal, no matter what I do, I wanted to be excellent. Not just be good or mediocre, it has to be excellent or I’m not happy,” Zann said. “And I don’t compare myself with others, I just compare myself with myself, and try and get better and better with my craft … whatever that craft is.”
Paul, the Mi’kmaq artist from Pictou Landing First Nation who spent his childhood in Halifax and now lives in Valley, Colchester County, finished his acceptance speech by noting he has recently been contacted by the Canadian Royal Mint regarding entering a portrait of King Charles III for their consideration.
He said he is hopeful his submission will get on the short-list and also talked about returning to his roots a little bit these days by painting more from his imagination and bringing to life some Mi’kmaq legends.
“It (imagination) is the greatest force I own,” Paul said. “And it’s the most enlightening ‘ism’ because when you have your ups and downs, it’s what is in your imagination which brings you back up.”
Goodspeed continues to educate young musicians and entertain people, which includes weekly jazz shows at the Lion’s Head Tavern on Robie Street in Halifax.
A highlight of the ceremony was when he brought out his saxophone and was joined by noted Cuban singer Augusto Enriquez, an often collaborator who did Goodspeed’s introduction at the event, for a performance.
Goodspeed talked about artists being dreamers who work to bring their dreams to life.
“We are all dreamers for sure; it’s another thing Augusto and I have in common for sure and my friend Paul Barrett is a dreamer,” he said, gesturing towards Barrett, another Truro musical and teaching icon who was recognized with a council lifetime achievement award last year.
“Most of the musicians I know are dreamers and it takes a lot of people in the community to support all these dreamers and make stuff happen. So I want to thank the Cobequid Arts Council for creating these awards and their group, to recognize people who have spent their lifetime making great ideas happen.”
Moffatt is one of those who helps makes dreams come to fruition, including supporting the venue, the Marigold, where the awards took place and so much more entertainment and fun is brought to Truro or, in the case of local groups such as Hubtown Theatre and its youth theatre, provided a place to shine.
Local visual artists are also provided a place to shine through the MacLellan-Moffatt Financial Art Gallery in the Marigold.
Moffatt talked about being able to “cobble” the funding for the Marigold’s creation for a fraction of what it would cost today.
“Think about what that would take today to put it together and what it has brought to this community … the happiness and joy from the venue, through the acts and performances we’ve seen here, has been fabulous,” he said.
Moffatt ideally captured the theme of the evening in one line when talking about the other three recipients.
“There is an awful lot more lifetime and an awful a lot more achievement yet to come,” he said, before summing up his thought about being recognized among the group.
“In one word, for me, this is a privilege,” he said.
