Legacy Awards – Coming Soon
by Staff Editors
(September 18, 2023 – Toronto, ON) With the rush and bother of TIFF behind us, it’s time to look at another major September event, the 2nd annual Legacy Awards to be held at Live Nation Canada’s HISTORY.
The Legacy Awards is an offshoot of The Black Academy, established in 2020, a membership-based, national, year-round Canadian organization that operates at the intersection of Black popular culture and social justice. It celebrates, empowers, and showcases Black Canadian talent and inspires generations to come. Co-founded by actors, producers, and Scarborough-born brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James, The Black Academy is born out of a longstanding commitment to their community and is dedicated to dismantling systemic racism in Canada.
Last month, The Legacy Awards announced the names of the first four recipients of the 2023 Legacy Awards, pictured above: Canadian screen industry godmother Tonya Williams, legendary filmmaker Julien Christian Lutz (pka Director X), platinum-selling artist Jully Black, and rising star LU KALA.
Tonya Williams will receive the 2023 Visionary Award, for her “exceptional leadership, contagious tenacity, innovation, activism, and fierce dedication to uplifting communities of colour.”
Director X, (Julien Christian Lutz) will receive the 2023 Trailblazer Award for “creating some of the most indelible music videos ever, for pioneering a visual aesthetic that is both lauded and much-copied, and for his enduring impact and mentorship.”
Jully Black will be recognized with the 2023 Icon Award for “all her music and unforgettable live performances, her stamina and lasting popularity, and for her ally-ship and the impact she has made internationally.
LU KALA will receive the 2023 Emerging Artist Award Recipient for “creating upbeat, infectious songs of female empowerment, her undeniable talent, and for all she will inevitably accomplish in the future.”
Many other awards will be handed out during a live broadcast on CBC and CBC Gem on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET. Click here to vote for The Digital Creator Fan Choice Award. Click here for tickets.
The Legacy Awards is executive produced by Shamier Anderson and Stephan James of The Black Academy and Bay Mills Studios. John Brunton, Lindsay Cox, and Shannon Farr are the executive producers for Insight Productions (a Boat Rocker company). Jordan Rudder is the producer/talent producer and André Williams is the line producer. Daniel Abrams also serves as EP. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Nic Meloney is Executive in Charge of Production, Unscripted Content. The 2023 edition of The Legacy Awards marks the second of an exclusive three-year partnership with CBC.
