WAG Hosts the 2017 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts Exhibition

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Governor General's Award winners

Hosted outside Ottawa for the first time, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, along with the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Gallery of Canada, presents the 2017 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts) exhibition. The exhibition is on view until September 4.

The GGArts exhibition celebrates the best and brightest in Canadian contemporary art and craft. The display features selected work by the 2017 winners: animation filmmaker Michèle Cournoyer (Montreal); filmmaker Mike Hoolboom (Toronto); visual artist Shelagh Keeley (Toronto); visual artist Glenn Lewis (Vancouver); painter Landon Mackenzie (Vancouver); curator/writer Philip Monk (Toronto) for the Outstanding Contribution Award; multimedia artist Shelley Niro (Brantford, Six Nations Of The Grand River); and jewelry artist Pamela Ritchie (Halifax) for the Saidye Bronfman Award.“The WAG is honoured to host the 2017 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts exhibition, bringing together some of the country’s most distinguished artists, filmmakers, and curators, ” comments WAG Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys. “Creative people tell the stories of our time, mapping our communities and pushing society to be diverse and innovative. These eight laureates showcase this amazing artistic inventiveness that’s around us as we recognize Canada at 150.”Established by the Governor General and the Canada Council for the Arts, which funds and administers the prizes, these awards offer all of us an occasion to celebrate artistic excellence in Canada.

• Earlier story with biographies and links to artist's portfolios

“Over their outstanding careers, these winners have shaped our understanding of the arts, inspired and provoked us. We are proud to share their work with Canadians, and thrilled that audiences in Winnipeg can experience it firsthand through this exhibition.” Tara Lapointe, Director of Outreach and Business Development, Canada Council for the Arts.

“In the exhibition, viewers will be able to experience alternative notions of storytelling and memory, unexpected approaches to landscape, and innovative approaches to traditional media,” Rhiannon Vogl, Associate curator, Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada and the exhibition curator. “With political undercurrents woven throughout the works on view, we are reminded, as ever, of the vital importance of contemporary art in Canada”.

Combining pieces from the NGC collection with those on loan from the laureates themselves, the exhibition features a variety of media such as ceramics, photography, print making, painting, film and fine jewellery. Mounting the exhibition in Winnipeg allows for an entirely new audience to experience the show. The public can also view video portraits of the laureates at ggavma.canadacouncil.ca.Each year since 1999, the GGArts awards carry a $25,000 cash prize. Seven awards acknowledge artists for their remarkable career achievements in fine or applied arts, film, video, audio, or new media, and have included the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in fine crafts since 2007. An eighth prize honours an outstanding contributor to the visual and media arts through voluntary or professional activities.