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Clive Robertson once wrote: “Artists don’t want to be famous; artists just want less public indifference.”

After a decades-long career spanning disciplines, sectors, and cities across Canada, Robertson's commitment to his craft has not gone unnoticed. His dedication has earned him the —one of Canada’s highest honours for visual artists.

Robertson, a retired Queen’s associate professor, is one of six recipients of this year’s artistic achievement awards, recognized for significant contributions to Canada’s cultural landscape and their impressive bodies of work. His own is expansive, ranging from performance, visual, and music arts, to publishing and journalism—but he might be best known for how his artistic practice sought to build an engaged arts community nationwide.

“For artists, being part of a community means drawing strength and support from a peer group,” says Robertson. "These bonds, much like those forged by students in university, are important—and sometimes fleeting—because they create space for people to thrive together through shared social and intellectual passions."

In the early 1970s, Robertson and artist Paul Woodrow co-founded one of Canada’s first artist collectives, W.O.R.K.S. The group produced diverse projects, including audio works, an art festival, and television programs. They eventually established the Parachute Centre for Cultural Affairs, one of the first artist-run centres in the country. The centre gained recognition for publishing Centerfold, an interdisciplinary art magazine that became a forum of arts information and critical discourse for creative communities. The magazine was renamed Fuse in 1980 and published for another 34 years.

During that time, Robertson’s artistry continued to evolve. He created a Toronto-based record label called Voicespondence, producing his own music as well as works by other musicians and poets. He also published a book, curated gallery shows, received a Contemporary Art Research Fellowship at the National Gallery of Canada, and earned his PhD in communication studies.

He joined Queen’s as an adjunct lecturer in the mid-90s, teaching contemporary Canadian art history, and joined the Faculty of Arts and Science as an assistant professor by the turn of the decade. He went on to co-create the Graduate Program in Cultural Studies and served as acting department head from 2010-11. He retired from the university in 2016.

“One cannot discuss 20th century Canadian art without the name Clive Robertson,” says Norman Vorano, Head of the Department of Art History and Art Conservation at Queen’s. “He is celebrated not only for his contributions to multimedia and performance art but also for his influential scholarship, incisive critical writing, and institutional leadership. Over two decades at Queen's, Clive inspired countless students by expertly bridging art theory and practice, solidifying the university's status as a leader in contemporary art studies.”

The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts were established in 1999 and have been awarded annually since. Robertson receives the award alongside other renowned creatives, including painter and Queen’s Honorary Degree recipient Kent Monkman. The awards will be presented in a ceremony, and selected works by the winning artists will be displayed in various galleries across Canada, with dates yet to be announced.