Victoria artist Carey Newman has been recognized by the Association for Opera in Canada with a national award.
Newman, who is vice-president of Pacific Opera Victoria’s board of directors, was given the Opera Directors Recognition Award for his volunteer service and board director commitment.
Newman has been instrumental in fundraising campaigns for Pacific Opera, and plays a leading role with the company’s equity, diversity, inclusion and reconciliation committee.
Ian Rye, chief executive officer of Pacific Opera, nominated Newman for the award. “For as long as I have known Carey, I never cease to be moved by his consistently innovative work and his deep passion, respect and tireless dedication to Indigenous culture and its influence and intersection on contemporary art and opera,” Rye said.
A master carver, Newman’s influential work, The Witness Blanket, toured Canada and is part of the permanent collection at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Newman received the Order of British Columbia in 2018.