April 15, 2020 Update
Following the jury’s selection of the 2020 longlist, the Board of the Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada leadership ream 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.
The National Gallery of Canada and the Sobey Art Foundation’s commitment is to return to a juried annual Award as soon as public health guidelines enable us to do so, but for this year the shortlist artists exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, winners’ announcement gala and international residencies program have been suspended.
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Sobey International Residencies Program
Traditionally, three of the Sobey Art Award longlist artists are selected to participate in an international residency ranging in length from three to six months. One of the remaining four shortlist artists is chosen to attend the Fogo Island Arts’ international residency program.
The residencies program supports Canadian artists as they move to the next phase of their careers by providing time, space and facilities to create new work and conduct research for future projects. The artists taking part in the program are introduced to international arts communities, allowing them to connect with artists, curators, and organizations outside their existing network.
The Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada created the annual residency program in 2018 to offer additional support for young artists, and to raise the profile of contemporary Canadian art and artists around the world. The total annual value of the program is approximately $75,000 CAD, and includes funds for travel, living expenses, and materials.
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From Quebec, Marie-Michelle Deschamps will participate in a three-month residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, USA, from October to December 2020.
Through sculpture, writing, drawing, sound and installations, the work of Marie-Michelle Deschamps focuses on language as an inhabitable space—a veritable structure and place where forms reside. Her practice is rooted within conversation, collaboration and translation, underscoring the transformative place of language within the formal dialect of architecture.
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From the Prairies and North, Kablusiak will participate in a Fogo Island Arts International Residency in 2020.
Kablusiak is an Inuvialuk artist and curator based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary), and a board member of Stride Gallery (Mohkinstsis). Awards include the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Young Artist Prize and the Primary Colours Emerging Artist Award. Kablusiak has recently exhibited work at Art Mûr (Montreal) as part of the Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone, and at the Athens School of Fine Arts in Greece, as part of the Platforms Project.
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From Ontario, Erdem Taşdelen will participate in a three-month residency at the Delfina Foundation in London, UK, from October to December 2020.
Erdem Taşdelen is a Turkish-Canadian artist based in Toronto. His practice is rooted in conceptualism and involves a range of media including installation, video, sculpture, sound and artist books. His diverse projects bring self-expression into question within the context of culturally learned behaviours, where he often draws from unique historical narratives to address the complexities of current sociopolitical issues.
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From the Atlantic Provinces, Logan MacDonald will participate in a six-month residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin Germany, from January to June 2020.
Logan MacDonald is a queer visual artist and curator from Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland, Canada. He identifies with having both European and Mi’kmaq ancestry. His art practice is often research and installation-based, often exploring notions of belonging and membership, specifically in relation to Indigenous, queer, and disability perspectives.
The Sobey Art Foundation is incredibly proud to support these annual artist residencies. International exchange and exposure are vital because they provide opportunities for contemporary artists from Canada to show their work abroad and make important connections. The SAARP was created to foster cultural and artistic exchange, nurture experimentation and new ideas, and support research and the development of new Canadian work.
— Rob Sobey, Chair of the Sobey Art Foundation
