Canadian artists Peter Fleming, Michael Hosaluk, Gordon Peteran, Ann Roberts and Ione Thorkelsson have been named finalists for this year's $20,000 Saidye Bronfman Award. The announcement was made by The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, in association with The Canada Council for the Arts and The Canadian Museum of Civilization, partners in the Award.

The Saidye Bronfman Award recipient will be announced at a special award ceremony at the One of a Kind Canadian Craft Show and Sale at the National Trade Centre, Toronto, on Thursday, November 23, 2000. A signature exhibition of recent work by the five finalists will be on display at the One of a Kind Show from November 23 - December 3, 2000.

The five finalists for this year's Saidye Bronfman Award are truly masters of their craft. They include:
 

Peter Fleming, a designer and furnituremaker who maintains a studio in Toronto, where he produces both client-commissioned and self-generated pieces of furniture and related objects. Fleming recently chaired the very successful "Furniture 2000, Old and New Communities" fourth annual conference of the Furniture Society in Toronto in June. His work has been exhibited across Canada and in the United States, China and Japan. In addition, Fleming's work can be found in private and corporate collections including the collection of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada.

Michael Hosaluk, recognized as one of the world's most creative wood "turners", is based outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hosaluk is currently curating an exhibit called Turned Multiples II at the Craft Alliance, in St. Louis, Missouri and has been the coordinator of the biennial International Wood Furniture/Turning Conference since 1982. His work has been exhibited throughout Canada, the United States, England, Germany and Japan. Hosaluk's pieces can also be found in the permanent collections of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace; Zhao Xiu, Governor of Jilin Province, Republic of China; Idemitsu Corporation, Tokyo; Los Angeles County Art Museum; Detroit Museum of Art; and the Royal Ontario Museum.

Gordon Peteran, an artist who creates site-specific works of art and furniture for public and private spaces. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Peteran's work has been exhibited throughout Canada and the United States. He has been an active lecturer and educator, at the Rhode Island School of Design, California College of Art and Crafts, Sheridan College School of Art and Design and the Ontario College of Art. Peteran's public art commissions include work for the City of Toronto; the Glenn Gould Foundation; the Canadian Crafts Museum, Vancouver; the University of Toronto; and the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. His work is represented in numerous private and corporate collections.

Ann Roberts, a ceramic sculptor and potter who maintains her studio in Conestogo Ontario. Roberts' work has been exhibited in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Her exceptional career was recognized in 1992 by a 20 year retrospective, Coming Full Circle, which was organized by the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery. Roberts was instrumental in the creation of the nationally-recognized Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario, which opened in 1993. Her work is represented in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, Czech Republic; Ariana Museum, Geneva; the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute Museum, China; the Canadian Museum of Civilization; and the Royal Ontario Museum.

Ione Thorkelsson, a glass artist, who is based in Roseisle, Manitoba. Thorkelsson's work has been exhibited in Canada, Europe, Hong Kong and the United States. She established her studio in 1973 and was honoured in 1998 by a comprehensive retrospective, Unwilling Bestiary: Retrospective and Recent Work, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Thorkelsson's work is represented in private, corporate and public collections, including the Canada Council Art Bank; the Indusman Collection; the collection of Imperial Oil Canada; and the Massey Foundation Collection.