TARA Awards

Since 1978, the Annual Television and Radio Awards (TARAs) have been a prestigious tradition at the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University for over 40 years, with the first-ever awards presentation in 1979. The RTA School of Media is Canada’s preeminent school of media content creation, innovation, and broadcasting. Students of the program produce industry-level productions in audio, digital media, video, and screenwriting. At the end of each academic term, RTA faculty cast their votes in support of the best student productions in numerous award categories. The results are kept a secret until the moment the show’s presenters open the envelopes and reveal the winners to a live audience.

This year’s 44th annual TARA awards took place on April 11th and for the first time ever were hybrid and free for all attendees. The TARA team was dedicated to providing an accessible and safe experience for all students by offering online or in-person viewing options. But that hasn’t affected the enthusiasm and advanced level of production in organizing this exciting live online event.

“As someone who has been involved from the beginning and watched the event change over and over again based on restrictions, I’m so proud of how this year’s TARA Awards turned out and what my team accomplished,” says TARAs Executive Producer Brooklyn Harker. “The team of student volunteers worked incredibly hard to create a hybrid show for the RTA community with the goal of welcoming all students.. I feel so lucky to be on the team and even luckier to have been part of the crowd enjoying the show.”

The TARAs entries are judged by a panel made up of RTA professors and instructors, and some major categories include Best First-Year Production, Best Documentary, Best Art Direction and Best Music Recording. Catch some of the exciting awards show highlights!