VISUAL ARTS AWARD 2008

Program Summary

The Foundation awards two annual prizes in the visual arts. The Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award of $25,000 recognizes a Canadian visual artist in mid-career who has demonstrated excellence and innovation in his or her body of work and who shows promise of outstanding artistic achievement in the years ahead. The Hnatyshyn Foundation Award for Curatorial Excellence of $15,000 is awarded to a Canadian mid-career curator of contemporary visual art in recognition of his or her contribution to the advancement of the contemporary visual arts in Canada.

Both prizes are awarded each year and a person may receive the award only once. Eligible categories in the visual arts include painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, three-dimensional installations and multi-media installations.

Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Artists and curators cannot apply for these awards. An expert jury of arts professionals from across the country draws up the list of candidates and chooses the award recipients.

Nominees for the artists' award are identified on the basis of excellence in a substantial body of work as reflected in peer group assessments, significant acquisitions and solo exhibitions in professional exhibition facilities.

Candidates for the curators' award will have demonstrated exceptional support for innovative artistic expression through the creation of a significant number of important exhibitions which, through their vision, presentation and documentation advance Canadians' awareness and appreciation of contemporary visual art. Independent curators, as well as those working within an institutional context, will be eligible for the award.

Adjudication Schedule:

The list of candidates for both awards will be complete by July 2008. Finalists will be notified in early August if additional documentation of their work is required. The award recipients will be announced in November 2008.

For more information, please contact:

Executive Director
The Hnatyshyn Foundation
Suite 2600, 160 Elgin Street
Ottawa, ON K1P 1C3

e-mail: bdjanes@rjhf.com
phone: (613) 233-0108
fax: (613) 233-8576