2019 MERA Award of Excellence in the Fine Arts and Fine Crafts

Trina Conboy | May 29, 2019

We are pleased to announce that Rosemary Kotze will receive the 2019 MERA Award of Excellence in the Fine Arts and Fine Crafts for her creations using the felting process.   We are also pleased to recognize the work of Barbara Sohn as the runner up.

Sunny Kerr, the Curator of Contemporary Art at Queen’s University said the jury found it to be a difficult decision and were debating the merits of the work of several highly committed artists right up until the end.   “We find Rosemary Kotze’s work in felted wool to be beautifully original. It has a character of trueness to nature that shows keen observation. We are charmed by the sense of life that she has given to her materials. The technical skill is deep even if it is quiet and betrays a long dedication to artmaking”.

Victoria Henry, the former Director of the Canada Council Art Bank commented it was not an easy choice: “there is always the dilemma of choosing between fine craft and painting, each of which has its own norms, but in the end, Rosemary’s felted animals were judged the most worthy of the MERA Award for 2019”.

The MERA Award of Excellence in the Fine Arts and Fine Crafts, consisting of a prize of $1000, will be presented to Rosemary Kotze at a reception on June 14th, 2019 from 4:30 to 6 pm at MERA located at 974 Conc 9A Dalhousie in McDonalds Corners.   The winner and runner up will have examples of their work on view at the reception.

The MERA Award of Excellence, which is given every 2 years, was conceived and made possible by a generous donation by local residents Chris & David Dodge to the Perth & District Community Foundation, which manages the funds.   Recognizing MERA’s important contributions to the community, the Dodge Family chose MERA to select the award winners.

Ankaret Dean, MERA’s Artistic Director, said it was a pleasure to look at all the submissions, and hopes the other artists will submit their work again in 2021.

Anyone interested in learning more about MERA, or the Award of Excellence, are encouraged to view our website at www.meraschoolhouse,org or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..