The Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada today announced the long list of nominees for Canada’s prestigious contemporary art prize, the 2017 Sobey Art Award. 

 

The Sobey Art Award is presented annually to a Canadian artist aged 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated. Since it launched in 2001, the pre-eminent contemporary art award has continued to have a renowned impact in supporting the Canadian visual arts scene. The jury panel for the 2017 Sobey Art Award shared the names of the 25 artists vying for the top prize worth CAD $50,000. They are:

 

ATLANTIC

• Eleanor King 
• Graeme Patterson 
• Lisa Lipton 
• Melanie Colosimo 
• Ursula Johnson 

QUÉBEC

• Annie Baillargeon 
• Dan Brault 
• Jacynthe Carrier
• Kim Waldron 
• Ludovic Boney 

ONTARIO

• Bridget Moser 
• Erika DeFreitas 
• Jean-Paul Kelly 
• Nadia Belerique 
• Sameer Farooq 

PRAIRIES & THE NORTH

• Amy Malbeuf 
• Divya Mehra 
• Erica Eyres 
• Kara Uzelman 
• The Ephemerals 

WEST COAST & YUKON

• Babak Golkar 
• James Nizam 
• Jeneen Frei Njootli
• Raymond Boisjoly 
• Rebecca Brewer 

The Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada congratulate each nominated artist for making the 2017 Sobey Art Award longlist. 

 

The 2017 curatorial panel, chaired by the Gallery’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Josée Drouin-Brisebois, is composed of one distinguished representative from each of Canada’s five regions, as well as one international juror; they are: Sarah Fillmore, Chief Curator at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Atlantic); Claude Bélanger, General and Artistic Director, Manif d’art de Québec (Quebec); Sarah Robayo Sheridan, Curator of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto (Ontario); Jenifer Papararo, Executive Director at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art (Prairies and the North); Reid Shier, Director and Curator of the Presentation House Gallery (West Coast and Yukon);  and Adam Budak, Chief Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic.

 

“In its 15th year, the Sobey Art Award continues to play a vital role in supporting both emerging and established Canadian artists, celebrating the variety of the Canadian visual arts scenes and showcasing talent from the country”, said NGC’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Josée Drouin-Brisebois. “Working closely with prominent curators from both Canada and abroad, the Sobey Art Award curatorial panel offers a unique and wonderful opportunity to deepen the conversation on how we continue to recognise and connect with artists from across Canada.”

 

The five finalists making up the shortlist for the 2017 Sobey Art Award will be announced on June 6, comprising of one artist from each region of Canada. The selected short-listed artists will exhibit their work at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto from October 24 to December 9, 2017.  

 

The winner of the 2017 Sobey Art Award will be announced during a gala event October 25, 2017 at the Hart House Great Hall at the University of Toronto.  

 

The Award will distribute a total of CAD $100,000, including $50,000 to the winner, and $10,000 to each of the other short-listed artists. 

 

About the Sobey Art Award: The Sobey Art Award

 

About the Sobey Foundation: The Sobey Art Foundation

 

About the National Gallery of Canada: gallery.ca

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For all media enquiries, please contact: 

 

Josée-Britanie Mallet

Senior Media and Public Relations Officer

National Gallery of Canada

(613) 990-6835

bmallet@gallery.ca

 

Bernard Doucet

Sobey Art Foundation

(902) 752-8371, ext. 2301

(902) 921-1755

Bernard.doucet@sobeys.com