Alberta Arts Writing Contest Seeks Entries

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The Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge is seeking entries for its annual writing prize, which recognizes the work of emerging arts writers in Alberta and BIPOC+ writers in Canada.

The winner of the  SAAG Writing Prize's arts writing category, open to Alberta-based arts writers, will receive $250 and be published online in Galleries West magazine. The category includes long-form texts, critical essays and exhibition reviews. 

This year sees a new award, the Aruna D’Souza Arts Writing Prize for BIPOC+ arts writing.

Open to Canadian residents who self-identify as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour, it invites arts writing in any style. The winner will receive $1,000 and have their work published online with Canadian Art.

D'Souza, who studied art history at the University of Alberta before heading to New York to complete a doctorate, writes about race in modern and contemporary art, intersectional feminisms, and how museums shape our views of each other and the world.

Her most recent book, Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts (Badlands Unlimited), was named one of the best art books of 2018 by the New York Times. She is now editing two forthcoming volumes, Making It Modern: A Linda Nochlin Reader and Lorraine O’Grady: Writing in Space 1973-2018.

The writing prize has a poetry and prose category for Alberta-based artists that includes long-form text, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and experimental writing. Prizes are $250 and a residency at the Gushul Writers Cottage in November.

The deadline for submissions in all categories is Sept. 13.

A prize reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 1.

Writers must be at least 18 years of age, and have fewer than five pieces of writing published in a nationally distributed magazine. Students are encouraged to participate. Applicants are asked to include a current CV and short biography.

Submissions should be sent to Courtney Faulkner, the gallery's public engagement and event coordinator, at cfaulkner@saag.ca.

Source: Southern Alberta Art Gallery