The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce the five winners and their protégés for the 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes / Les Prix Johanna-Metcalf des Arts de la scène (Johannas), with a total value of $195,000 in prizes. Each winner received a prize of $25,000, announced at a ceremony on May 5, 2025, at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.
The Johannas celebrate artists in Ontario who have made a recognized impact on their fields and the public, while showing great promise in the ongoing pursuit of their ambitious and visionary practices. The prize is named in honour of Johanna Metcalf, who was at the heart of the Metcalf Foundation’s work for over 40 years.
One of the largest unrestricted prizes for artists in Ontario, the Johannas celebrate mid-career artists across the disciplines of dance, theatre, and music/opera. From the 15 finalists, five winners were selected and each received $25,000. Each winner named a protégé, who received $10,000, in recognition of their formidable promise as early-career artists. The remaining 10 finalists each received a prize of $2,000, bringing the total prize value to $195,000.
The five winners and their protégés for the 2025 Johannas are:
- d'bi.young anitafrika, dub poet, playwright, dramaturge, and scholar (Brampton, Ontario)
with protégé Sashoya Simpson, writer, storyteller, and theatre practitioner
- Alain Doom, playwright and actor (Ottawa, Ontario)
with protégé Dillon Orr, director
- Sarah Gartshore, playwright and director (Sudbury, Ontario)
with protégé Adam Francis Proulx, theatre creator and puppeteer
- Kevin Lau, composer (Ottawa, Ontario)
with protégé Michelle Lorimer, composer
- Weyni Mengesha, director (Toronto, Ontario)
with protégé Luke Reece, poet, playwright, and director
“We’re thrilled to celebrate such a talented group of artists through the Johannas this year. Their work exemplifies the resilience, creativity, and bold vision that define Ontario’s artistic landscape,” said Owen Pallett, 2025 Johannas Chair. “As Chair, I’m honored to be part of this process and excited to see the incredible impact these winners and their protégés will continue to have on the future of the arts. To know that the artistic practice is alive and well in Ontario, and that we’re supporting these trailblazers, is incredibly inspiring.”
The 10 other finalists for the 2025 Johannas were: Penny Couchie, Christine Friday, Donna Grantis, Haviah Mighty, Lua Shayenne, Louis Simão, Vanese Smith, Adrian Sutherland, Marni Walsh, and Naishi Wang.
Nominees for the 2025 Johannas were selected by peers in partnership with the Ontario Arts Council through project competitions in dance, music/opera, and theatre, as well as from Francophone, Indigenous, and Northern communities. Artists who have been producing and showing work for at least 10 years were eligible to be nominated.
