Tegan and Sara's National Arts Centre Award proves that queer representation matters
"I thought about when we were teenagers, how we didn't have a ton of people to look up to"
Indie rock duo Tegan and Sara will be presented with a National Arts Centre Award at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) this Friday. The GGPAA's represent the highest honour an artist can achieve for contributions to the Canadian arts and culture scene.
The twin sisters emerged from Calgary with their hit albums So Jealous and The Con in the mid-2000's. Together they've played massive gigs from Coachella to Lollapalooza and won Juno Awards along with a Grammy nomination.
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Tegan and Sara are also known for their advocacy for women and non-binary members of the LGBTQ+ community. The duo launched a foundation (with Elliot Page as a board member) to fight for the health, representation and equality for queer women and girls. Tegan and Sara donated proceeds from their 2017 album The Con X: Covers directly to the foundation.
"I thought about when we were teenagers, how we didn't have a ton of people to look up to," says Tegan Quin in the video above, "there was no one that really spoke for us."
"Their music has captured the imaginations of folk and pop music fans worldwide, while being important advocates for LGBTQ women and girls. We are delighted to honour their tremendous accomplishments this past year with the National Arts," said National Arts Centre President and CEO Peter Herrndorf.
Tegan and Sara reflected back on their 20 year music career with Tom Power on q this morning, click listen below to hear the full interview.
On June 1, Tegan and Sara, among other laureates, are being honoured with the highest distinction a performing artist can achieve in Canada — a Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Find out more.