The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) revealed on Tuesday (30 April) the longlist of artists competing for Canada’s top art prize, the Sobey Art Award, which now includes 30 artists following the addition of the “Circumpolar” region to its five longstanding regions—the Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic. The Circumpolar area, defined as existing at or near a geographical pole or within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, encompasses Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), and the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
The award’s prize money has increased in tandem to C$465,000 ($340,000), with the winner to be named during a gala at the NGC on 9 November and enriched to the tune of C$100,000 ($73,000). The six shortlisted artists, who will be announced on 11 June, will receive C$25,000 ($18,000), while the remaining longlisted artists each get $10,000 ($7,300). The shortlisted artists will be further recognised as they will be featured in an exhibition opening at the NGC on 4 October (until March 2025).
The 30 longlisted artists, chosen by a jury made up of representatives from each region with international input, are as follows:
Atlantic:
Séamus Gallagher: Moncton, New Brunswick (also a 2023 finalist)
Carrie Allison: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Lucas Morneau: Sackville, New Brunswick
Rémi Belliveau: Memramcook, New Brunswick
Mathieu Léger: Moncton, New Brunswick
Quebec:
Miles Greenberg: Montreal
Frances Adair Mckenzie: Montreal
Eve Tagny: Montreal
Nico Williams ᐅᑌᒥᐣ: Montreal
Chun Hua Catherine Dong: Montreal
Ontario:
June Clark: Toronto
Sameer Farooq: Toronto
Timothy Yanick Hunter: Toronto
Oluseye Ogunlesi: Toronto
Chrysanne Stathacos: Toronto
Prairies:
Audie Murray: Regina, Saskatchewan
Marigold Santos: Calgary, Alberta
Aikaterini Zegeye-Gebrehiwot: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Erica Eyres: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Rhayne Vermette: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pacific:
Peter Morin: Tahltan Nation
Sara Cwynar: Vancouver, British Columbia
Judy Chartrand: Vancouver, British Columbia
Zoe Kreye: Vancouver, British Columbia
Barry Doupé: Vancouver, British Columbia
Circumpolar:
Casey Koyczan: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Jason Sikoak: Rigolet, Nunatsiavut
Jessica Winters: Saint John’s, Newfoundland
Eldred Allen: Rigolet, Nunatsiavut
Taqralik Partridge: Kuujjuaq, Nunavik
“We are very happy that even more deserving contemporary artists from Canada will be included in the Sobey Art Award long- and shortlists,” Rob Sobey, who chairs the Sobey Art Foundation’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “The Circumpolar region was added to acknowledge the incredible talent of artists from this region and to better reflect the cultural makeup of our country.”
The area was previously linked to the Prairies, with the region then collectively known as the Prairies and the North, which boasted the past three Sobey winners: Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (2021), Divya Mehra (2022) and Kablusiak (2023). The year prior to their successes, with Covid-19 a major concern, each of the 25 longlisted artists pocketed C$25,000.
The Sobey Art Award dates back to 2002, when the renowned sculptor Brian Jungen was the inaugural winner. The award is funded by the Sobey Art Foundation, with the NGC organizing and presenting the nominees’ works.