Sobey Art Award

Canada’s most prestigious contemporary art prize opens up to emerging artists of all ages.

Established in 2002, the Sobey Art Award aims to promote new developments in contemporary Canadian art and provide opportunities for artists, bringing them national and international attention.

Now recognized as one of the world’s most generous privately funded prizes for contemporary visual artists, the Sobey Art Award is thrilled to open up the competition to emerging Canadian artists of all ages.

This year, a total of $400,000 in prize money will be awarded: $100,000 to the overall winner, $25,000 to each of the four other shortlisted artists, and $10,000 to each of the remaining twenty longlisted artists. In addition, the five shortlisted artists will be featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in the fall of 2021.

The Sobey Art Award is designed to seek out and promote the work of artists across the country. Every year we work with jurors and artists to improve the Award’s structure and impact. In its twentieth year, we are pleased to announce that we are increasing the long-list prize to $10,000 to each of the twenty artists on the list, raising the overall award to $400,000. We look forward to seeing the return of the National Gallery’s exhibition this fall.

Nominations for the 2021 Sobey Art Award are now open!