Lacey Prize - 2021
2021 Winner
Congratulations to Blinkers Art and Project Space, winner of the 2021 Lacey Prize!
Blinkers Art and Project Space
In its current nascent form, Blinkers is a genre-non-specific not-for-profit project space for the arts and beyond. It is entirely run by a big-hearted cohort of volunteers. With deep respect, empathy, and consideration we recognize and learn from the antipathies that have taken place on this land and waters we live and settle on. Blinkers Art and Project Space stand on the land space marked as Treaty One Territory also known as Winnipeg, in Manitoba.
Photo: Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez, New Photographs, exhibition presented at Blinkers Art and Project Space, October 22 to December 19, 2021. © Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez. Photo courtesy Blinkers Art and Project Space
“The jury was struck by the breadth and strength of the nominations for the 2021 Lacey Prize. The stories of resilience and critical responses to the pandemic speaks to the importance and impact of this country’s vibrant network of artist-run spaces. Among a very competitive field of applicants, Blinkers Art and Project Space distinguished itself by the development of its infrastructure which has successfully committed to bring a range of artistic voices from across Canada to the vibrant cultural community of Winnipeg.”
2021 Runners Up
Khyber Centre for the Arts
The Khyber Centre for the Arts (est. 1995) is a queer-led artist-run centre located in downtown Halifax NS, which is Kjipuktuk, unceded Mi’kmaq territory. The centre presents non-commercial artwork, offers a self-led platform for artists and their practices, and aims to disrupt systemic causes of exclusion, tokenism, and power imbalances in the arts.
The Khyber Centre for the Arts. 2021. Photo: Khyber Co-Directors Hannah Guinan (L) and Bria Miller (R). Courtesy of photographer Wren Tian-Morris and the Khyber.
UNIT/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness
UNIT/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness is situated on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, in Vancouver BC. UNIT/PITT supports art and critical awareness by offering the tools, space, resources, and mentorship for emerging artists and members of their neighbouring communities to engage in experimental creative work that advances a more expansive, inclusive reality for art and cultural production.
UNIT/PITT administrative staff and program coordinators. From top left clockwise: Brit Bachmann, Director; Casey Wei, ReIssue Editor; Rachel Lau, Program Coordinator; Lauren Lavery, Communications & Development Assistant; Kara Stanton, ReIssue Assistant Editor; Roxanne Panchasi, La Commune 2021 Program Curator and Board Member. Photo: Courtesy UNIT/PITT, 2021
Honourable Mentions
The jury for the Lacey Prize 2021 was composed of Eunice Bélidor, Curator of Quebec and Canadian Contemporary Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives at the NGC, and Louise Lacey-Rokosh, artist, and representative from the Lacey family. They identified two centres which they felt merited honourable mentions for the important work they are doing in their respective communities. Congratulations to: