Star Observer photographer Ann-Marie Calilhanna among Honour Award nominees

THE Star Observer’s long-serving photographer Ann-Marie Calilhanna has been nominated for a Cayte Latta Memorial Award For Visual Arts at this year’s ACON Honour Awards.

The award recognises visual art that expresses, interprets or explores issues or themes affecting the LGBTI community in the forms of photography, painting, drawing, video, filmmaking, printmaking or graphic design.

It’s named in honour of Cayte Latta, who died four years ago and is widely remembered as a well-known photographer, artist, filmmaker, social activist, and LGBTI community figure.

Calilhanna is one of 10 people who have been nominated for the award, all of whom join a diverse mix of 28 people and organisations announced this week as finalists in various other categories.

For the past decade, Calilhanna has had a pivotal role in Sydney’s LGBTI community, religiously documenting celebrations, struggles, parties, sporting events and rallies and protests. She ensures the images of community leaders and historical milestones are recorded so they are not forgotten.

She has also regularly donated her time for organisations who financially struggle, ensuring that even the smallest tribes have some of their history recorded into the wider Australian LGBTI history books.

Calilhanna has also been the official photographer for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the past decade, capturing thousands and thousands of moments of celebration and LGBTI culture and history, and her photos regularly grace the cover of the Star Observer.

If you value Ann-Marie’s important work in documenting our community history in photos, why not make a pledge to our crowdfunding campaign: http://www.pozible.com/project/185044

It’s the eighth year that the Honour Awards are being held, which aim to recognise outstanding achievements within or contributions to NSW’s LGBTI community.

The awards night is also a gala fundraising event for LGBTI charity Aurora and for ACON, NSW’s leading HIV and LGBTI health organisation.

The 28 finalists were selected from over 140 nominations received across seven categories covering the business, health, education, community, legal, political, media and cultural sectors.

The winners of each category, including the Cayte Latta Memorial Award, will be announced at the gala ceremony at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom on September 17.

Acting ACON chief executive Karen Price said the judges were impressed with the quality and variety of nominations.

“The judging panel noted that selecting the finalists was a difficult process because the achievements and contributions of all the nominees were remarkable in their own way,” she said.

“However, the judges agreed that the finalists they selected exhibited a truly outstanding commitment to supporting the LGBTI community and deserved to be recognised for their efforts.”

EVENT DETAILS

WHAT: Honour 2014 – Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Party

WHERE: Ivy Ballroom, 330 George St, Sydney

WHEN: Wednesday, September 17

TIME: 6.30pm–11pm

COST: $85 per person

INFO/TICKETS: www.honourawards.com.au

If you value Ann-Marie Calilhanna’s important work in documenting our community history in photos, why not make a pledge to our crowdfunding campaign: http://www.pozible.com/project/185044