Finalists Named for Yukon Prize for Visual Arts

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Yukon Prize shortlist 2023

Clockwise from top left: Kaylyn Baker, Jeffrey Langille, Rebekah Miller, Cole Pauls (artist rendition), Omar Reyna and Alainnah Whachell are the finalists for the Yukon Prize for Visual Arts.

Six finalists were announced Wednesday for the $20,000 Yukon Prize for Visual Arts.

They are:

• Kaylyn Baker, Selkirk First Nation, living in Whitehorse
• Jeffrey Langille, Dawson City
• Rebekah Miller, Dawson City
• Cole Pauls, Champagne Aishihik and Tahltan, living in Vancouver
• Omar Reyna, Whitehorse
• Alainnah Whachell, Whitehorse

The winner will be announced Sept. 16. The prize is handed out every two years to recognize excellence by Yukon visual artists.

Jury member Sarah Milroy, chief curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ont., called the works "a rich feast of creativity."

"The applicants for this prize exemplified the diversity of approaches to making art that are alive and well in the Yukon, from beadwork and weaving to electronic sound works and sculptural installation," she said.

The jury also included Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk art history professor at Concordia University in Montreal, and Michelle Jacques, chief curator at Remai Modern in Saskatoon.

The Yukon Arts Centre will open an exhibition of the finalists’ work in September. The five runners-up will each receive $3,000.

The prize, first given in 2021 to Joseph Tisiga, is a partnership of co-founders Julie Jai and David Trick with the Yukon Arts Foundation and the Yukon Arts Centre.

Trick said one goal of the prize is to assist Yukon artists gain wider recognition.  

"We want to help place Yukon art firmly into the national dialogue about art and increase awareness of the exceptional talent of Yukon artists," he said.

Some 60 Yukon artists applied for prize in an open competition that closed Feb. 28.

Source: Yukon Arts Centre