Skip to main content
NGC logo
  • Visit
    • Everything you need to plan your visit and make the most of your time. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the Gallery.

      • Hours
      • Admission
      • Location and Parking
      • Visit the Gallery Safely
      • Dining, Shopping and Amenities
      • Groups
      • Schools
      • Tourism Information
      • Accessibility
      • Floorplan
      • Audio Tours
      • Visitor Code of Conduct
    • Hours
    • Admission
    • Location and Parking
    • Visit the Gallery Safely
    • Dining, Shopping and Amenities
    • Groups
    • Schools
    • Tourism Information
    • Accessibility
    • Floorplan
    • Audio Tours
    • Visitor Code of Conduct
  • What's on
    • Find out what you can see and do at the Gallery in Ottawa, what’s new online, and where the collection is on view worldwide.

      • Exhibitions and Galleries
      • Calendar
      • Sobey Art Award
      • National Outreach
      • Touring Exhibitions and Loans
      • Winter at the Gallery
    • Exhibitions and Galleries
    • Calendar
    • Sobey Art Award
    • National Outreach
    • Touring Exhibitions and Loans
    • Winter at the Gallery
  • Learn
    • From tours and family adventures to distance learning, there are countless ways to discover and appreciate art at the Gallery.

      • For Kids and Families
      • For Adults
      • For Teachers
      • Communities and Groups
    • For Kids and Families
    • For Adults
    • For Teachers
    • Communities and Groups
  • Collection
    • Explore one of the most extraordinary collections of art from across Canada and around the world.

      • Search the Collection
      • Collecting Areas
      • Restoration and Conservation
    • Search the Collection
    • Collecting Areas
    • Restoration and Conservation
  • Research
    • The Gallery's Library and Archives offers exceptional resources for scholars, staff and visitors.

      • Library & Archives
      • Search the Gallery Collection
      • Image Reproduction
      • Art Databases
      • Provenance
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Fellowships
      • Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room
      • Artwork not on Display
    • Library & Archives
    • Search the Gallery Collection
    • Image Reproduction
    • Art Databases
    • Provenance
    • Past Exhibitions
    • Fellowships
    • Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room
    • Artwork not on Display
  • Shop
  • Membership
  • Magazine
  • NGC Foundation
  • Tickets
Search
  • EN
  • FR
Search

Search

Search form

Advanced Search

Content Type

  • (-) Remove All Results filter All Results
  • Article Apply Article filter
  • Press Release Apply Press Release filter
  • Page Apply Page filter
  • Exhibition Apply Exhibition filter
  • Artwork Apply Artwork filter
  • Artist Apply Artist filter
  • Event Apply Event filter
ADVANCED SEARCH
Close advanced search

Sobey Art Award – About

The Sobey Art Award is the pre-eminent prize for emerging Canadian artists of all ages. 

Presented annually, the award celebrates some of our country’s most exciting artists and provides significant financial recognition.

Since it was created in 2002, the Sobey Art Award has had an undeniable impact on the careers of Canadian contemporary artists. Within little more than a decade, the award and its attendant publicity have also boosted awareness of contemporary art in Canada and further afield.

Each year, a jury composed of one distinguished representative from each of Canada’s five regions — the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and the North, and the West Coast and Yukon — as well as one international juror oversees the selection process. The jury creates a list of five artists from each region selected from all regional nominees, and based on the jurors’ professional knowledge of their regions and of the national art scene.  The jury then meets and chooses its shortlist, with one finalist from each region.

Over its 20-year legacy of supporting artists in Canada, Sobey Art Award past winners have included: Brian Jungen, Annie Pootoogook, Nadia Myre, Ursula Johnson, Kipwani Kiwanga, Stephanie Comilang, and last year’s winner Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory.

The 2022 Sobey Art Award is jointly administered by the National Gallery of Canada and the Sobey Art Foundation.

 

What's on

  • Exhibitions and Galleries
    • Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons - Audio Tour
    • Experience the Group of Seven
    • General Idea - Audioguide
    • Photostories Canada
  • Calendar
  • Sobey Art Award
    • About
    • Nominations
    • Past Awards
    • Contact
  • National Outreach
  • Touring Exhibitions and Loans
  • Winter at the Gallery

History

The idea for the Sobey Art Award arose in 2001, when Donald R. Sobey — then-Chairman of both the Nova Scotia-based Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada Board of Trustees — spoke to former National Gallery Director Pierre Théberge about the Foundation sponsoring an art prize.

Given the lack of major contemporary art prizes in Canada at the time, Théberge was keen on the idea of an award that would raise the prestige and profile of contemporary art and the work of Canadian artists. Sobey agreed, and the Sobey Art Award was born.

Inaugurated in November 2001, the Sobey Art Award was administered for nearly 15 years by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, which was instrumental in making the Award what it is today. Since the first award in 2002, it has highlighted the work of over 350 artists, with winners such as Abbas Akhavan, David Altmejd, Brian Jungen, Nadia Myre and Annie Pootoogook, among others. In December 2015, administration of the Sobey Art Award was transferred to the National Gallery of Canada.

On January 29, 2018, the Sobey Art Foundation announced major enhancements to the annual prize structure of the Sobey Art Award. An important gift by the Donald R. Sobey Foundation and re-investment from the Sobey Art Foundation will support targeted funds to directly benefit Canadian artists through the Award.
 

The National Gallery of Canada mourns the loss of Donald R. Sobey, one of Canada’s greatest cultural philanthropists who loved championing the country’s best contemporary artists and advancing the appreciation of fine art more broadly.  Read the release

Donald R. Sobey shakes hands with guests.

About the Sobey Art Foundation

With a mandate to carry on the work of entrepreneur and business leader, the late Frank H. Sobey, the Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1981 to collect and preserve representative examples of 19th- and 20th-century Canadian art. The Foundation has since broadened its scope to support contemporary Canadian art through the Sobey Art Award. In one of the finest private collections of its kind, the Sobey Art Foundation has assembled outstanding examples from Canadian masters such as Cornelius Krieghoff, Tom Thomson and J.E.H. MacDonald. The collection is housed at Crombie House, the former home of Frank Sobey and his wife Irene, in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, and is open to the public, free-of-charge.

Sobey Art Foundation logo

 

Ankosé – Everything is connected – Tout est relié

National Gallery of Canada
380 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1N 9N4
Directions

613-990-1985
1-800-319-2787
[email protected]

  • About the Gallery
    • From the Director
    • Mission Statement
    • Our History
    • Governance
    • Building
    • Our Brand Story
    • Initiatives
    • Prizes
    • Strategic Plan
    • Accessibility Plan
  • For Professionals
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Teachers
    • Travel Trade
    • Vendors
  • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Venue Rentals
  • Support the Gallery
    • Annual Giving
    • Sponsorship
  • Image Reproduction
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

Stay informed
Subscribe to receive newsletters, invitations, articles and more.

Sign Up

  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2023 National Gallery of Canada

Canada