Vancouver artist and historian awarded national arts awards
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Vancouver’s Roger Lee and Carole Itter were among the winners when the Canada Council for the Arts announced the 2026 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts) on Sept. 16.
Lee, an art historian, was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award and Itter, a visual and installation artist and filmmaker, received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.
“I’m absolutely over the sky that I was awarded such an important award in Canada in the arts,” said Lee, adding with a laugh: “I was in my downstairs bathroom, sitting on the throne, and I got a phone call, and I jumped up. My pants were down when they told me.”
A member of the Vancouver Art Gallery ’s acquisitions committee, Lee, who was a professor in the University of Regina’s visual arts department for 33 years, is the first Chinese Canadian to win the Governor General’s Outstanding Contribution Award.
Eight artists in total were honoured for their exceptional careers and their significant contributions to visual arts, media arts and fine crafts in Canada.
Chosen by their peers, each winner will receive a $25,000 prize and a bronze medallion. In addition, Canadian filmmakers have created video portraits celebrating the winners and their achievements.
“The 2026 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts winners remind us of the essential role artists play in Canadian society, helping us understand ourselves and one another,” said Michelle Chawla, director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts in a statement. “Deeply rooted in their communities, their work sparks dialogue, reveals the richness of human experience and creates a stronger sense of belonging. Today, we celebrate these remarkable aartists, whose creativity strengthens our connections across Canada and throughout the world.”
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