2024 Sobey Art Award Finalists Named
The National Gallery of Canada and the Sobey Art Foundation have announced the six artists shortlisted for the 2024 Sobey Art Award.
The finalists are:
Taqralik Partridge (courtesy of the artist)
- Originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Taqralik Partridge is a writer, poet, visual artist and curator whose work has been shown in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada; until January 2024, she was the associate curator of Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Partridge currently lives in Ottawa, Ont. She has been chosen from the Circumpolar region.
Judy Chartrand (photo by Beth Carter)
- Of Manitoba Cree heritage, Judy Chartrand is the finalist from the Pacific region. “Her ceramic and installation-based work exposes urgent issues around racism, ignorance and privilege, characterized by a keen interest in the social circuits of value,” according to the news release. She lives in Vancouver, BC.
Rhayne Vermette (courtesy of the artist)
- The prairies finalist, Rhayne Vermette is “a Métis image maker and storyteller. Her work emphasizes an interruption of image through collage, photography, and analog filmmaking,” according to the release. Vermette lives in Winnipeg.
June Calark (photo by Dean Tomlinson)
- The Ontario finalist, June Clark has had solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ringling Museum of Art in Florida, the Studio Museum in New York City and others. She lives in Toronto, Ont.
Nico Williams (photo by Cory Hunlin)
- Nico Williams ᐅᑌᒥᐣ is the Québec finalist and “has a multidisciplinary and often collaborative practice that is centred around sculptural beadwork. Williams lives and works in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Québec, and is a member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Anishinaabe).”
Mathieu Leger (courtesy of the artist)
- Representing the Atlantic, Mathieu Léger makes work that “reflects ideas surrounding time, the body, and process-related trace. His current work investigates spatial awareness through performance, sound, and image. He divides his time between faraway places and Moncton, New Brunswick,” according to the release.
The winner will be announced on Nov. 9, 2024.
Works by the six finalists will be on view at the NGC from Oct. 4, 2024 to March 16, 2025.
“A wide range of creative practices distinguishes this year’s shortlist, including sculpture, beadwork, ceramics, photography, experimental film and mixed-media installations,” said Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada; and Chair, 2024 Sobey Award Jury.
“This year, the peer-to-peer conversation brought forward by an artist-led jury resulted in recognizing six artists whose vision, determination and commitment to innovation has remained unwavering – in some cases over many decades.”
The longlist for the awards was announced at the end of April. This year, for the first time ever, the awards have been expanded to include the circumpolar region. The region includes Nunavut, northern Quebec, Labrador, Yukon and NWT.
Also for the first year ever, the jury overseeing the deliberations consists of six Canadian artists, all former Sobey Art Award recipients or finalists, with representation from each region, plus one international juror.
The 2024 Sobey Art Award Jury includes: asinnajaq (Circumpolar); Jeremy Shaw (Pacific); Divya Mehra (Prairies); Stephanie Comilang (Ontario); Caroline Monnet (Québec); Mario Doucette (Atlantic); and Zoé Whitley, Director, Chisenhale Gallery, UK (International).
Established in 2002, the Sobey Art Award has nurtured the careers of artists including Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Daniel Barrow and Ursula Johnson, as well as the 2023 winner, Kablusiak. The award supports innovation in contemporary visual arts and brings attention to Canadian artists both domestically and abroad.
This year's prize money totals $465,000, making the Sobey Art Award one of the world's largest visual arts awards prizes.
Source: National Gallery of Canada
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