Toronto, December 11, 2023 – Nathanael Larochette is the recipient of the $12,000 Ontario Arts Foundation Artist Educator Award. The award is given annually to an Ontario resident who exemplifies excellence in arts education.
About Nathanael Larochette
Nathanael Larochette is an Ottawa based musician, spoken word poet, and arts educator. He has been facilitating spoken word poetry workshops in Ottawa area schools since 2007. He is a Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and Canadian Individual Poetry Slam finalist, a CBC Poetry Face-Off winner, a former Canadian Festival of Spoken Word director, and has collaborated with the National Arts Centre, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Canada, the Canadian Co-operatives Association, the Ontario Association of Food Banks, Historica Canada, Imagine Canada, and Ottawa Public Health.
“My spoken word practice is and has always been inspired by rap and hip hop,” states Nathanael Larochette. “As an arts educator who works with diverse student populations, I am deeply grateful for the global contribution of the African American community who birthed this rich culture. I would also like to thank the schools, teachers and community organizations who continue to provide opportunities to encourage and inspire youth, and the Ontario Arts Council’s Artists in Communities and Schools program for their ongoing support.”
About the Award
The Ontario Arts Foundation Artist Educator Award recognizes an Ontario resident who exemplifies excellence in arts education, demonstrates a unique approach to their arts education practice, creates meaningful learning experiences for young people, inspires connections to the arts beyond the classroom and continues to maintain an active arts practice.
The Ontario Arts Foundation established and manages the endowment that funds the Artist Educator Award. The Ontario Arts Council is responsible for the selection process. The award recipient is selected through the Ontario Arts Council’s peer assessment process from the applicants to the Artist in Communities and Schools Projects program.
Previous recipients include Mike Cope (2022), Elizabeth Doxtater (2021), and Ruben Esguerra (2020). See the full list of previous recipients.
Sentence Fragments and Broken Language
by Nathanael Larochette
In the past 16 years
More students have referred to me
As “The Poet Guy” than I’m able to remember
Ever since leaving my last real job dishwashing
I’ve found myself face to face with classrooms
Cafeterias, gymnasiums and school assemblies
Full of wide-eyed teenagers, eager keeners
Jocks, nerds, bullies and the bullied
Immigrants, refugees, broken home survivors
Youth who’ve seen more hardships than most in a lifetime
And more cell phones than you can shake an apple at
For information, please contact:
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director
Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 bbennett@oafdn.ca
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2022-2023, the OAF paid $4 million in endowment income and $450,000 in awards and scholarships.
For 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2022-2023, OAC invested $55.9 million in 220 communities across Ontario through 2,269 grants to individual artists and 1,023 grants to organizations.
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