2025 Craft Awards: Impact Review

In anticipation of the 2026 Craft Awards Program being open for applications (deadline of June 1, 2026), we connected with the 2025 Craft Award Recipients to hear their feedback on the impacts of receiving a 2025 Craft Award and what they are working on now! The annual Craft Awards program recognize accomplished and dedicated practitioners in the field of craft and design and is able to take place on an annual basis through the valued support of many generous donors and sponsors. Our thanks go to the following organizations, businesses and individuals: 

Chan Fraser Design, FUSION: the Ontario Clay and Glass Association,  Gladstone House, JJStudio, Lacy West Supplies. Ltd., Leisa Rich and the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op, The Pottery Supply House, Tuckers Pottery Supplies Ltd., as well as members and friends of the Copeland, Corcoran, Gregor, Mather, Mayhall, McPherson, Shanks, Walker, and Yung families.

Below are some of the responses from 2025 Craft Award recipients, responding to questions of how receiving this award impacted them, and you can find the entire list of recipients listed on the announcement page here!

Eleni Papkov, 2025 Recipient of the Pattie Walker Memorial Award in Architectural Glass:

I was grateful to receive the Pattie Walker Memorial Award as I began my residency at the Harbourfront Centre. It has given me the opportunity to begin exploring different processes in both the hotshop and in mold making. I have had the chance to develop new forms, techniques and push my abilities in terms of scale.I would recommend applying to the 2026 Craft Awards because it gives emerging artists an opportunity to expand the scope of their work. It is a source of support for makers who are developing their discipline, exploring new processes and building upon their current skills.

Lindsey Ainsworth, 2025 Recipient of the James H. McPherson Award in Woodworking:

It was a truly surreal experience to win a Craft Award. As a recent graduate, it was an honour to be recognized and have my work displayed. The cash prize is an added bonus!  Since winning the award, I have mainly been experimenting and brainstorming new projects and directions. I have also started teaching a beginner woodworking class at a community centre, which has been a great way to get back to basics and introduce youth to a practice I love.

Tracey-Mae Chambers, 2025 Recipient of the Shanks Memorial Award in Textiles:

To be recognized by Craft Ontario—an organization that champions the highest level of craftsmanship—validates the technical labor and material exploration behind my installations. Often, my work is viewed primarily through a social lens, but this award honors the "making" itself: the thousands of hours of crocheting, knitting, and weaving that form the backbone of my practice. I recommend applying for the Craft Awards because they provide more than just financial support; they provide a platform for your "voice" to be amplified within the broader Canadian cultural landscape. For textile artists, whose work is often labor-intensive and site-specific, being recognized by an organization like Craft Ontario offers a vital sense of community and professional legitimacy.

Since receiving the award, I have embarked on a powerful new phase of the #hopeandhealingcanada national installation during my current residency at the Harbourfront Centre Textile Studio. This project has evolved to directly incorporate weathered fibers recovered from significant historical sites across the country.

 

Lauren Rice, 2025 Recipient of the Dorothy Elaine McPherson Memorial Award in Mixed Media:

Winning this award allowed me to explore my craft even further, expanding to larger installation work. I have had the pleasure of installing a multi piece suspended installation, called Joyous Shindig, in The Drake Hotel Cafe as a part of Design TO. I have expanded into lighting, using my signature glass and leather combination, making pendant lamps. I have partnered with curator and lighting designer Kate Tessier, and was a part of her show All Light that was an exhibition in part of Design TO. I am also looking forward to showing my work at The Artist Project at the end of March 2026! 

(Joyous Shindig, installed in the Drake Hotel Cafe pictured, left.)

Tanya Besedina, 2025 Recipient of the Helen Copeland Memorial Award in Ceramics:

Winning the Craft Award was an important moment in my practice. More than recognition, it gave me the confidence to think bigger and work at a larger scale. The award created real momentum in my career — not only through resources, but through visibility, confidence, and the courage to continue growing. I truly encourage other artists to apply for the 2026 Craft Awards. This kind of recognition can shift something inside you. For me, it wasn’t only about visibility — it was about feeling seen and understood. To be acknowledged by peers who understand the dedication and vulnerability behind making strengthened my confidence in a very real way. It reminded me that my work belongs in a larger conversation, and that realization gave me the courage to think bigger.

Isabelle McMahon, 2025 Recipient of a Leisa Rich Fibre Arts Residency Award at the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op:

The Leisa Rich Fibre Arts Residency Award at the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op has been crucial to my creative career as an emerging artist as it has allowed me to have the space and facilities needed to make new artworks. I was a part of the exhibition Assembly Not Required 3.0 held at 99 Frames alongside other members of the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op as a part of Design TO. I am also using the studio space and feedback from the other members to create new weavings to expand my current explorations of repurposing LDPE plastic bags into woven textile. This project is one that deserves long term dedicated study and I am beyond grateful to have received the ability to continue it.  

There are lots of spaces to find community and being a member of Craft Ontario opens a lot of doors for artists working in craft based mediums. To become familiar with the application process and the options that are available is valuable experience. 

The annual Craft Awards recognize accomplished and dedicated practitioners in the field of craft and design.

Find more information on the 2026 Craft Awards Program and how to apply by clicking here.