The Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada are pleased to present the five finalists for the 2018 Sobey Art Award, Canada’s prestigious contemporary art prize that recognizes and supports emerging artists from across the country.
I am very proud of the shortlisted artists selected, and inspired by the criticality and potent interactivity of their work. Many of this year’s artists use performance and public space, and it will be an interesting challenge to reflect these aspects of their practice in the exhibition this fall.
– Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Canada, and Chair of the 2018 Sobey Art Award Jury
The Sobey Art Award is now recognized internationally as an award of excellence for Canadian contemporary artists. The process is surely always rigorous, and I can say that this year’s task for the jury was not an easy one. The longlist was indicative of the great talent and diversity of art production currently in Canada, in every region. Despite this, the process with the other jurors was harmonious and productive, where we had engaging discussions on every single artist before finally coming down to the five artists in the shortlist. And the results speak for themselves: we shortlisted five outstanding artists of entirely different persuasion. We all now very much look forward to the next stage and the exhibition in Ottawa.
