National Gallery of Canada and Sobey Art Foundation Announce 2023 Sobey Art Award Longlist

Posted April 25, 2023

Twenty-Five Canadian Visual Artists Nominated for Canada’s Preeminent $100,000 Contemporary Art Award

OTTAWA, Thursday, April 25, 2023 — The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and the Sobey Art Foundation today announced the 25 artists longlisted for the 2023 Sobey Art Award, Canada’s preeminent contemporary art award. With prize money totalling $400,000, this is the richest award for contemporary visual arts in the country for artists of all ages, and one of the most generous in the world. The annual prize is funded by the Sobey Art Foundation.

The 2023 Sobey Art Award longlisted artists are:

Atlantic:
Miranda Bellamy and Amanda Fauteux
Séamus Gallagher
Will Gill
Alan Syliboy
Aislinn Thomas

Quebec:
Anahita Norouzi
Geneviève & Matthieu
Laura Acosta and Santiago Tavera
arkadi lavoie lachapelle
Renée Condo

Ontario:
Alvin Luong
Barry Ace
Michèle Pearson Clarke
Pejvak (Felix Kalmenson and Rouzbeh Akhbari)
Rah Eleh

Prairies & North:
Keeley Haftner
Kablusiak
Wally Dion
Marigold Santos
Catherine Blackburn

West Coast & Yukon:
Justine A. Chambers
Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill
Woojae Kim
Christine Howard Sandoval
Douglas Watt

"Congratulations to the longlisted artists whose works present a wide range of media, perspectives and lived experiences that reveal new ways of seeing ourselves, each other, and our diverse histories,” said Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada, and Chair of the 2023 Sobey Award Jury. “The Gallery’s long-lasting partnership with the Sobey Art Foundation is strengthening the futures and community of the visual arts in and across Canada, and brings well-deserved national and international recognition to many of this country’s most thoughtful and innovative artistic voices.”

"On behalf of the Board of the Sobey Art Foundation, I extend our warmest congratulations to the 25 remarkable artists selected for the 2023 longlist. We are grateful to them and all 2023 nominees who have shared their practices with this process. Collectively, the Sobey Art Award nominees reflect the dynamic diversity and the shared experiences that make up the Canadian identity. Each year, the longlist demonstrates truly unique and inspiring perspectives from artists across the country, including this time a number of collaborative artistic practices,” said Bernard Doucet, Executive Director, the Sobey Art Foundation. “We look forward to celebrating all of these practices with audiences from across Canada through our esteemed partner, the National Gallery of Canada.”

The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, and the winner on Saturday, November 18, 2023, during a special evening celebration at the NGC. Works by the five shortlisted artists will be featured in a special exhibition at the NGC from October 13, 2023 toMarch 3, 2024.

For more information, including biographies of the 2023 longlisted artists, please visit National Gallery of Canada link here: https://www.gallery.ca/whats-on/sobey-art-award

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For media inquiries, please contact: 

Megan Leahy
Publicist
m@meganleahy.ca

Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations
National Gallery of Canada
bmallet@gallery.ca

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About the Sobey Art Award

Presented annually, the award celebrates some of our country’s most exciting artists and provides significant financial recognition. Since it was created in 2002, the Sobey Art Award has had an undeniable impact on the careers of Canadian contemporary artists. Within little more than a decade, the award and its attendant publicity have also boosted awareness of contemporary art in Canada and further afield.

The artists are selected by an independent jury of six curators: one from each of Canada’s five regions—Atlantic; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies and North; and West Coast and Yukon—as well as an international juror.

The winner will receive $100,000, each of the remaining four shortlisted artists $25,000, and each of the remaining twenty longlisted artists, $10,000. In addition to financial support, select works by the five shortlisted artists will be presented in a special exhibition at National Gallery of Canada next fall. The Sobey Art Award brings the artists national and international recognition.

The previous winners of the Sobey Art Award are: Brian Jungen (2002), Jean-Pierre Gauthier (2004), Annie Pootoogook (2006), Michel de Broin (2007), Tim Lee (2008), David Altmejd (2009), Daniel Barrow (2010), Daniel Young and Christian Giroux (2011), Raphaëlle de Groot (2012), Duane Linklater (2013), Nadia Myre (2014), Abbas Akhaven (2015), Jeremy Shaw (2016), Ursula Johnson (2017), Kapwani Kiwanga (2018), Stephanie Comilang (2019), Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (2021), and Divya Mehra (2022).

About the Sobey Art Foundation

The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 with the mandate to carry on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, who was a dedicated collector of Canadian art. In 2002 Sobey Art Award was founded and is recognized as one of the world’s most generous, privately funded prizes for contemporary visual artists. The award is open to Canadian contemporary artists of all ages, and aims to promote new developments in contemporary art and provide opportunities for artists, bringing them national and international attention. Since 2016, it is organized and presented by National Gallery of Canada.

About the National Gallery of Canada

Ankosé – Everything is Connected – Tout est relié

The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) is dedicated to amplifying voices through art and extending the reach and breadth of its collection, exhibitions program, and public activities to represent all Canadians, while centring Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Ankosé—an Anishinaabemowin word that means “everything is connected”—reflects the Gallery’s mission to create dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds, and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, one another, and our diverse histories, through the visual arts. NGC is home to a rich contemporary Indigenous international art collection, as well as important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian and European art from the 14th to the 21st century. Founded in 1880, NGC has played a key role in Canadian culture for more than 140 years.