January 18th 2010
Andrea Blanar receives Pro Cultura Hungarica Award
Ms Andrea Blanar, President of the Canadian Hungarian Artists Collective in Montreal, Quebec was awarded the Pro Cultura Hungarica medal by István Hiller, Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Hungary for her continuous and dedicated work to preserve, promote and enrich Hungarian cultural values in Canada as well as in Hungary. Ms Blanar has been the initiator and unflagging driving engine of the excellently organised and very successful Re: In Situ exhibitions last summer and fall in Szentendre and Keszthely, Hungary which clearly demonstrated the talent of the Canadian-Hungarian artists and the unity of Hungarian culture. See our story on these exhibitions HERE.
The award was presented by Pal Vastagh, Ambassador of Hungary to Canada on January 18th 2010, the eve of the Day of Hungarian Culture at a reception held in Foyer Hongrois, Montreal, in the presence of a great number of friends and admirers of Ms Blanar. Madame Svetlana Litvin, Political Counselor of the Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities of Québec attended the event, too and wholeheartedly congratulated Ms Blanar for her lifelong dedication to the promotion of cultural values and community service.
The Canada Hungary Educational Foundation heartily congratulates Ms Blanar on this well-deserved honour.
She has lived in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, and Japan as well as different parts of Canada. She has exhibited widely and her paintings and mixed media constructions are represented in numerous public and corporate collections. In addition to pursuing her art, Andrea has taught, worked as a consultant and since 1964 has used art in psychiatric therapy in various Montreal hospitals. Andrea is one of the founders and currently Co-President of the Canadian Hungarian Artists Collective (CHAC), an association of professional artists and supporters of the arts, to create educational and showcasing opportunities for established, emerging and immigrant Canadian artists of Hungarian descent.
She organizes a biannual art symposium in Tantramar, New Brunswick and was the key coordinator behind a 2006 exhibition of Hungarian Canadian artists entitled “Reflexions Canada-Hongrie” at the Stewart Hall Gallery in Pointe-Claire, Montreal.
Rolling Fog
Golden Illumination
Baie Verte Marsh
Restigouche Eel River
Sources and more info on Andrea Blanar: