Long List Announced for Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award

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Ten artists are in the running for this year's Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, the Inuit Art Foundation and the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq announced Thursday.

They are Manasie Akpaliapik, Deantha Edmunds, Billy Gauthier, Glenn Gear, Maureen Gruben, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloon, Gloria Inugaq Putumiraqtuq, Kablusiak, Ningiukulu Teevee and Couzyn van Heuvelen. 

New funding has allowed the award to expand its list of finalists from four to ten. Each artist on the long list receives a cash prize of $2,500, as well as a feature in a dedicated catalogue, that will be included in the spring issue of Inuit Art Quarterly. 

The winner, selected from a short list of five artists to be announced in May, will receive $20,000, along with a solo exhibition at WAG-Qaumajuq in 2025. The prize also includes a residency at the gallery, a dedicated catalogue and the acquisition of a work into the gallery's permanent collection. The winner will be announced on Sept. 29.

The other four artists on the short list each receive $5,000 and will be featured in a group exhibition this spring at the gallery.

Heather Igloliorte, president of the Inuit Art Foundation, said this year's expanded long list "clearly demonstrates the vitality of contemporary Inuit artistic practice."

"I am thrilled to see such diverse talent recognized in this year’s long list, featuring artists across so many disciplines, chosen by an all-Inuit jury," she said.

Established in 2014, the biennial award honours the late Kenojuak Ashevak. Past winners include Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Jocelyn Piirainen and Ossie Michelin. 

Source: Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq