AMIA’s MANDATE
- To promote the Ontario and Canadian music scene at the local, national and international level by rewarding the best in Canadian music and music video production, by promoting the creation and distribution of music and music videos in Ontario, Canada and around the world, by offering professional and mentorship opportunities within the music industry, and by creating a curated archive of the history of the Canadian Music Video.
- To provide opportunities for artists and collectives that are often underrepresented in the arts.
AMIA’S ACTIVITIES
PRIZM PRIZE AWARDS
Since 2013, the Prism Prize, a national, juried award, recognizes the artistry of the modern music video in Canada. Each year it awards cash and non-cash prizes to the best music videos of the year. A jury of 100+ Canadian music and film industry professionals – including members of the print/web media, broadcasting, film, radio, and video art communities – are selected to nominate the 20 best videos of the year to comprise a long list, then a shortlist and then they are charged with the task of crowning one video as the winner of the annual Prism Prize. The Prism Prize Grand Prize of $15,000 is awarded based on artistic merit. Jurors are asked to consider the following criteria when selecting the best video of the year: Originality, Creativity, Style, Innovation and Effective Execution. The Prism Prize also rewards other music videos for best in their categories.
TORONTO PLAYS ITSELF
Held annually in the spring, the Association for Music and Innovative Arts (AMIA) and the Prism Prize present a live music event called Toronto Plays Itself: A Music City Showcase from #The6. The showcase includes live performances by three of Toronto’s most exciting music acts, a celebrity host, music video premieres/screenings from under-represented or marginalized Toronto artists, a celebrity DJ, and the screening of the top twenty Canadian music videos of the year. The first annual Toronto Plays Itself was held in 2016 at The Garrison and featured performances by Maylee Todd, Clairmont The Second, Petra Glynt and a DJ set by Absolutely Free, as well as screenings of some of the best music videos in the country. The 2007 Toronto Plays Itself will follow the successful structure of its inaugural year.
CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND PANELS
AMIA through the Prism Prize has participated in many conferences and panels from local one at places like LIFT and TIFF in Toronto to international ones such as the UKMVA in London.
The AMIA conferences, workshops and panels are a planned series on music and music videos aimed at professionals as well as the public.
MUSIC VIDEO ARCHIVES
AMIA through the Prism Prize has and will continue to create an historical archive which is an exclusive and comprehensive resource for music fans to watch the best Canadian music videos ever made located in on place, on its website. We will soon launch a new “Canadian Classics” section featuring the best in vintage Canadian music videos such as Drop the Needle by Maestro Fresh Wes, 1234 by Feist, Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart and Misogyny by Rusty, which can be viewed for free all year round.
