Black Habits - Borden wins Portia White award

(CBC News) Actor and playwright Walter Borden has won this year's Portia White Prize. The $25,000 award is given every year to an established artist who has made a significant contribution to arts and culture in Nova Scotia.

In accepting his prize Wednesday at Province House, Borden said he was honoured to win an award named after White, the classical singer who performed on stages around Europe and North America.

"To believe that you have believed that in my work in some little way I have reflected the noble aspects that are inherent in her legacy, is a very humbling thing indeed," he said.

Borden was born in New Glasgow and studied acting in New York. In four decades as a professional actor, he has performed on stages across Canada.

He is just about to begin his fourth season at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Borden is also a celebrated playwright, poet and a mentor to many young Nova Scotian artists and musicians.

The $25,000 prize will be divided between Borden and a young performer of his choice. Jonathan Munro, a soprano singer from Truro, will get $7,000.

Earlier this year Borden received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his contribution to African-Canadian arts and culture.