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Six local cultural icons and five legacy artists are to be inducted to the Chatham-Kent Arts and Culture Heroes Wall of Fame this year.

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The shrine at the Chatham Cultural Centre, launched in 2022, is a Chatham-Kent Arts and Culture Network program, sponsored by Waste Connections of Canada and Chatham-Kent’s Forward Together grant program with the centre’s in-kind support.

“After two great seasons, we are excited to announce our third class of 11 inductees to the Heroes Wall of Fame,” network chairperson Dan White said in a release Thursday.

“The wall honours those individuals or groups, present and past, who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field or artistic practice both within and beyond Chatham-Kent,” he added. “These inductees deserve our recognition for the passion they’ve shown, the attention they’ve received, and the pride of community they’ve fostered in all of us.”

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Annual inductions take place in six categories – visual arts; performing arts; music; dance; literary arts; and cultural builders – aiming to represent communities across Chatham-Kent with legacy and contemporary selections.

“These inductees were chosen from the nominations provided by citizens and the oversight committee and, as it is every year, final selections were difficult,” said James Snyder, who heads the Wall of Fame committee. “We continue to be amazed at the sheer number of worthy candidates.”

Inductees get a permanent plaque at the cultural centre and join the virtual wall on the network’s website.

They will be recognized at an Oct. 23 ceremony at the centre, with a 6 p.m. reception in Studio One followed by the induction in the Kiwanis Theatre at 7. Works from 19 local artists will be showcased in Studio One before and after the event. The public is welcome and parking is free.

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During the ceremony, the network will formally recognize the first recipients of their Emerging Youth Artist scholarship awards, Teryn Romanick and Thomas Martin.

Romanick, an Ursuline College Chatham graduate, is studying fine arts at Western University. Martin, a Chatham-Kent secondary school grad, is attending the Ontario College of Art and Design University.

The Wall of Fame oversight and scholarship selection committees included Snyder, White, Christie Coatsworth, Juwels LeGardi, George Sims and Art Stirling, and Dan White.

Cathy Smith, project manager for Waste Connections of Canada, operators of the Ridge Landfill, said the company was proud to help “recognize and celebrate artistic excellence that has had an impact at home and, in many cases, across Canada and the world.

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“Highlighting the success and contributions of these individuals and groups can help inspire future generations of young artists to chase their own dreams and achievements,” she added.

2024 WALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Visual Arts

• Tracy Bultje, landscape artist, Chatham
• Frank Jordan*, wildlife artist, Chatham
• Leonard Jubenville*, landscape and figurative artist, Pain Court

Performing Arts

• Lawrene Denkers, actor, Chatham, East Kent

Music

• Tom Lockwood, guitarist and songwriter, Chatham
• Frances Adaskin*, pianist and teacher, Ridgetown
• Geoffrey O’Hara*, composer, singer and professor, Chatham

Dance

• David Nixon, ballet dancer, choreographer and artistic director, Chatham

Literary Arts

• Ray Robertson, novelist and essayist, Chatham
• Arthur Stringer*, novelist, screenwriter and poet, Chatham

Cultural Builders

• Buxton Homecoming, community celebration, North Buxton

*Legacy inductees

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