Canada's richest prize for contemporary visual arts returns with $465,000 in total prize money
OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 17, 2025 /CNW/ - Starting today, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and The Sobey Art Foundation (SAF) invite nominations for the 2025 Sobey Art Award. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, February 14, 2025, at 8 p.m. EST. The 2025 Sobey Art Award nomination form is accessible online here.
For the second year, Canada's preeminent contemporary visual arts award will recognize a total of 30 Canadian artists following last year's introduction of a sixth region, Circumpolar, to the nomination process. The other regions are Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic. Nico Williams, from the Quebec region, won the 2024 Sobey Art Award last November.
"The Sobey Art Award's call for nominations is an exciting opportunity to recognize and assert the breadth of Canada's artistic talent. The reputation of the Award, here and internationally, is unsurpassed as are the commitments of the Sobey Art Foundation to directly support artists," said Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives, NGC, and Chair of the 2025 Sobey Award Jury. "We look forward to the robust discussions that lie ahead for our distinguished jury as they review submissions received from across the many diverse regions of this country, or indeed throughout the world."
"We felt much enthusiasm from all over Canada and the arts community again last year and we are eager to present the award for a 22nd year in 2025," added Rob Sobey, Chair of the Board of Trustees, The Sobey Art Foundation. "Over the years, The Sobey Art Award longlisted, shortlisted and winners received significant exposure and went on to have prolific careers in Canada and around the world. We look forward to spotlighting and celebrating many more deserving exceptional contemporary artists from across the country."
With a total of $465,000 in prize money awarded to Canadian contemporary visual artists, the Sobey Art Award is the richest award in the country and one of the most generous in the world. The overall winner receives $100,000; each of the six shortlisted artists receives $25,000; and each of the remaining longlisted artists receives $10,000.
The 2025 longlist, to be announced in March, will feature 30 Canadian artists; five artists from each of the six regions across Canada.
Six shortlisted artists will be announced in May and featured in an exhibition at the NGC this fall. The winner will be announced at a celebration in November at the NGC.
Nomination process
The Sobey Art Award is open to individual artists and collectives. Nominees must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and have received recognition from peers, critics, and/or curators.
The NGC will accept nominations for the Award from established artists, arts professionals, scholars, critics, curators, professionals from art galleries and artist-run-centres, as well as private Canadian dealers in visual or media arts. Please note that self-nominated applications will not be accepted. The NGC will notify the sender by e-mail upon receipt of a nomination package.
Don't miss the 2024 Sobey Art Award Exhibition!
Artworks from the six 2024 Sobey Art Award shortlisted artists are currently on display at the National Gallery of Canada until April 6, 2025.
About The Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award (SAA) is Canada's preeminent prize for Canadian contemporary visual artists. Created in 2002 with funding from The Sobey Art Foundation (SAF), the SAA has helped to propel the careers of artists through financial support and recognition in Canada and beyond. The SAA has been jointly administered by the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and SAF since 2016.
The past 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 Akhavan (2015), Jeremy Shaw (2016), Ursula Johnson (2017), Kapwani Kiwanga (2018), Stephanie Comilang (2019), Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (2021), Divya Mehra (2022), Kablusiak (2023) and Nico Williams (2024).
About The Sobey Art Foundation
The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 by the late Frank H. Sobey who was a dedicated collector of Canadian art. The Sobey Art Award was founded in 2002 as privately funded prizes for Canadian contemporary visual artists. The award aims to promote new developments in contemporary visual art and attract national and international attention to Canadian artists.
About the National Gallery of Canada
Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all – now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14th to the 21st century and extensive library and archival holdings.
Ankosé – Everything is connected – Tout est relié
SOURCE National Gallery of Canada
For media inquiries, please contact: Josée-Britanie Mallet, Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada, [email protected]; Pénélope Carreau, Officer, Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada, [email protected]
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