Sobey Art Award

Canada’s most prestigious contemporary art prize.

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.
 

2020 Edition of the Sobey Art Award
On April 15^th, 2020, the Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada announced the 2020 Sobey Art Award Longlist. This annual award recognizes and supports emerging artists from across Canada. This year’s program has been altered temporarily in view of the current global pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.

Following the jury’s selection of the 2020 longlist, the Board of the Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada leadership team shifted all major budgets associated with the public and celebratory functions of the annual program to the prizes budget in order to provide more financial support to all of the artists on the longlist.

We are so proud to be able to celebrate the work of these 25 artists whose art deserves this recognition. The extraordinary circumstances provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic will have a profound impact on the livelihoods and practices of artists across Canada and around the world. As we all adjust to the changes in our every-day lives, we recognize how artists sustain us and give us hope. Our sincere wish is that each of this year’s longlist artists will have some additional support to continue to do so.

Rob Sobey, Chair, Sobey Art Foundation. April 15, 2020