The Nationwide Gallery of Canada (NGC) revealed on Tuesday (30 April) the longlist of artists competing for Canada’s high artwork prize, the Sobey Artwork Award, which now contains 30 artists following the addition of the “Circumpolar” area to its 5 longstanding areas—the Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic. The Circumpolar space, outlined as present at or close to a geographical pole or throughout the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, encompasses Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), and the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
The award’s prize cash has elevated in tandem to C$465,000 ($340,000), with the winner to be named throughout a gala on the NGC on 9 November and enriched to the tune of C$100,000 ($73,000). The six shortlisted artists, who shall be introduced on 11 June, will obtain C$25,000 ($18,000), whereas the remaining longlisted artists every get $10,000 ($7,300). The shortlisted artists shall be additional recognised as they are going to be featured in an exhibition opening on the NGC on 4 October (till March 2025).
The 30 longlisted artists, chosen by a jury made up of representatives from every area with worldwide enter, are as follows:
Atlantic:Séamus Gallagher: Moncton, New Brunswick (additionally a 2023 finalist)Carrie Allison: Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaLucas Morneau: Sackville, New BrunswickRémi Belliveau: Memramcook, New BrunswickMathieu Léger: Moncton, New Brunswick
Quebec:Miles Greenberg: MontrealFrances Adair Mckenzie: MontrealEve Tagny: MontrealNico Williams ᐅᑌᒥᐣ: MontrealChun Hua Catherine Dong: Montreal
Ontario:June Clark: TorontoSameer Farooq: TorontoTimothy Yanick Hunter: TorontoOluseye Ogunlesi: TorontoChrysanne Stathacos: Toronto
Prairies:Audie Murray: Regina, SaskatchewanMarigold Santos: Calgary, AlbertaAikaterini Zegeye-Gebrehiwot: Winnipeg, ManitobaErica Eyres: Winnipeg, ManitobaRhayne Vermette: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pacific:Peter Morin: Tahltan NationSara Cwynar: Vancouver, British ColumbiaJudy Chartrand: Vancouver, British ColumbiaZoe Kreye: Vancouver, British ColumbiaBarry Doupé: Vancouver, British Columbia
Circumpolar:Casey Koyczan: Yellowknife, Northwest TerritoriesJason Sikoak: Rigolet, NunatsiavutJessica Winters: Saint John’s, NewfoundlandEldred Allen: Rigolet, NunatsiavutTaqralik Partridge: Kuujjuaq, Nunavik
“We’re very completely happy that much more deserving modern artists from Canada shall be included within the Sobey Artwork Award long- and shortlists,” Rob Sobey, who chairs the Sobey Artwork Basis’s board of trustees, stated in a press release. “The Circumpolar area was added to acknowledge the unbelievable expertise of artists from this area and to raised replicate the cultural make-up of our nation.”
The world was beforehand linked to the Prairies, with the area then collectively often known as the Prairies and the North, which boasted the previous three Sobey winners: Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (2021), Divya Mehra (2022) and Kablusiak (2023). The 12 months previous to their successes, with Covid-19 a serious concern, every of the 25 longlisted artists pocketed C$25,000.
The Sobey Artwork Award dates again to 2002, when the famend sculptor Brian Jungen was the inaugural winner. The award is funded by the Sobey Artwork Basis, with the NGC organizing and presenting the nominees’ works.
